THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 

MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


THE 


TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE 


ENTERPRISE, 


NEW     YORK: 
ETA^S    &    DICKERSON,    697,    BKuADWAi 


J  854. 


THE 


TRIUMPHS  OF  PEESEVERANCE 


ENTERPRISE. 


RECOBI>£D    A^ 


(gvantplcs  for  t\t  |0uug, 


'  Lives  of  great  men  all  remind  us 

We  may  make  our  lives  sublime; 
And,  departing,  leave  behind  us 

Footprints  on  the  sands  of  time." — Longfellow. 


NEW    YORK: 
EVANS    &    DICKERSON,    697,    BROADWAY. 

1854. 


CSS' 


PREFACE. 


These  records  of  the  Triumphs  of  Perse- 
verance and  Enterprise  have  been  written 
with  the  view  to  inspire  the  youthful  reader 
with  a  glow  of  emulation,  and  to  induce 
him  to  toil  and  to  advance  in  the  peaceful 
achievements  of  science  and  benevolence, 
remembering  the  adage,  "  Whate'  er  man 
has  done,  man  may  do/* 

February,  1854. 


IW368047 


Contents 


TO 

J'HE  TRIUMPHS  OF  PERSEVERANCE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

LINGUISTS. 

Sir  William  Jones — Dr.  Samuel  Loi-      ....        1 
CHAPTER  II. 

AUTH0B8. 

Shakesperc  —  Spenser  —  Johnson  —  Giflbrd  — 

Gibbon         30 

CHAPTER  III. 

AETI8T8. 

Canova  —  Cliantrey  —  Salvator  Rosa  —  Benjamin 

West <j'^ 

CHAPTER  IV. 

MUSICIANS. 

Handel       ^'^ 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

SCIENTIFIC   DISC0VEEEE8  AND   MECHANICIANS. 

Sir  Humplirey  Davy — Sir  Eichard  Arkwright — 
Dr.  Edward  Cartwright — James  Watt — Co- 
lumbus —  Sir  Isaac  Newton  —  Sir  William 
Herschel  —  Reaumur  —  Hon.  Robert  Boyle    109 

CHAPTER    VI. 

MEN  OF  BUSINESS. 

Sir  Thomas  Gresham — Lackington    .....    152 
CHAPTER    VII. 

PHILANTHEOPISTS. 

John  Howard 169 

CONCLUSION. 

Dignity  and  advantages  of  Labour,  and  encourage- 
ments of  Perseverance 193 


Conttnts 


TO 

THE  TRIUMPHS  OF  ENTERPRISE. 


rNTRODUCTION. 
Enterprise — a  distinguishing  trait  of  civilisation      199 

CHAPTEE  I. 

Enterprise  as  displayed  in  Man's  Combats  with, 
and  mastery  over  the  Wild  Animals — Gene- 
ral Putnam's  Engagements  with  Wolves — 
Lieutenant  Evan  Davies's  Capture  of  a  Tiger 
— Combats  with  Wild  Elephants  in  India — 
Account  of  the  Whale  Fishery,  its  dangers 
and  its  excitements — Is  Whale  Fishery  justi- 
fiable on  humane  grounds  P 203 

CHAPTEE  n. 

Enterprise  as  displayed  in  overcoming  natural 
difficulties  in  visiting  new  Eegions  of  the 
Earth — Travels  of  the  African  Discoverers, 
Major  Denham,  Dr.  Oudney,  and  Captain 
Clapperton — Arctic  Travellers,  Dr.  Edward 
Daniel  Clarke,  Captain  Cochrane — Perils  of 
Mr.  Temple's  journey  from  Peru  to  Buenos 
Ayrcs  —  Humboldt's    description    of  South 


VI  CONTENTS. 

America — Suffering  occasioned  by  Mosquitoes 
— Captain  Back's  Arctic  Land  Expedition — 
Annoyance  of  tlie  Sand-flies — Sir  John  Frank- 
lin's gentleness 224 

CHAPTEE  III. 

Enterprise  as  displayed  in  Maritime  Discovery — 
Increased  dangers  attending  the  Voyage — 
Perilous  condition  of  Eoss  and  his  companions 
— Terrors  of  an  Iceberg — Wearisomeness  of 
an  Arctic  Winter — ^Departure  from  the  Ship 
across  the  Ice — Singular  return  to  his  vessel 
— Wretched  plight  of  himself  and  companions 
— Drake's  Voyage  round  the  World — Safe 
return  and  knighthood  by  Queen  Elizabeth  .    258 

CHAPTEE  IV. 
Belzoni's  Discoveries  in  Egypt 292 

CHAPTEE  V. 

Enterprise  as  displayed  in  construction  of  Eoads, 
Harbours,  Bridges,  Lighthouses,  &c. — Gib- 
bon's description  of  the  great  Eoman  High- 
'  ways — Bell's  account  of  the  Great  Wall  of 
China — Porcelain  Towerof Nanking — Famous 
slide  of  Alpnach  in  Switzerland — Monument 
to  the  memory  of  Peter  the  Great — ^Eddystone 
Lighthouse  —  Plymouth  Breakwater  —  Gra- 
dual reception  of  the  truth  tliat  war,  under 
nny  circumstances,  is  an  evil  to  be  deplored  .     328 


THE 

TRIUMPHS   OF  PERSEVERANCE, 


€)mttx  t\t  litst— linguists. 


SIB   WILLIAM   JONES.— DR.    SAMUEL    LEE. 

*'If  that  boy  were  left  naked  and  friendless 
on  Salisbury  Plain,  he  would  find  the  road  to 
fame  and  riches ! "  the  tutor  of  Sir  William 
Jones  was  accustomed  to  say  of  his  illustrious 
pupil.  His  observation  of  the  great  quality  of 
perseverance,  evinced  in  every  act  of  study 
prescribed  to  his  scholar,  doubtless  impelled 
the  teacher  to  utter  that  remarkable  affirmation. 
A  discermnent  of  high  genius  in  young  Jones, 
with  but  little  of  the  great  quality  we  have 
named,  would  have  led  Dr.  Thackeray  to  mo- 
dify his  remark.     It  would  have  been  couched 


A  THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

HI  some  such  form  as  this :  "  If  that  boy  had  as 
much  perseverance  as  genius,  he  would  find  the 
road  to  fame  and  riches,  even  if  he  were  left 
naked  and  friendless  on  Salisbury  Plain."  But, 
had  the  instructor  regarded  his  pupil  as  one 
endowed  with  the  most  brilliant  powers  of 
mind,  yet  entirely  destitute  of  perseverance, 
he  would  have  pronounced  a  judgment  very 
widely  different  from  the  first.  "Alas,  for  this 
boy!"  he  might  have  said,  "how  will  these 
shining  qualities,  fitfully  bursting  forth  in  his 
wayward  course  through  life,  displaying  their 
lustre  in  a  thousand  beginnings  which  will  lead 
to  nothing,  leave  him  to  be  regarded  as  an  object 
of  derision  where  he  might  have  won  general 
admiration  and  esteem,  and  cast  him  for  sub- 
sistence on  the  bounty  or  pity  of  others,  when 
he  might  have  been  a  noble  example  of  self- 
dependence  ! " 

Let  the  reflection  we  would  awaken  by  these 
introductory  sentences  be  of  a  healthy  character. 
It  is  not  meant  that  celebrity  or  wealth  are  the 
most  desirable  rewards  of  a  well-spent  life ;  but 
that  the  most  resplendent  natural  powers,  unless 
combined  with  application  and  industry,  fail  to 


LINGUISTS.  3 

bring  happiness  to  the  heart  and  mind  of  the 
possessor,  or  to  render  him  useful  to  his  brother 
men.  It  is  sought  to  impress  deeply  and  en- 
duringly  on  the  youthful  understanding,  the 
irrefragable  truth  that,  while  genius  is  a  gift, 
which  none  can  create  for  himself,  and  may  be 
uselessly  possessed,  perseverance  has  enabled 
many  who  were  bom  with  only  ordinary  faculties 
of  imagination,  judgment  and  memory,  to  attain 
a  first-rate  position  in  literature  or  science,  or 
in  the  direction  of  human  affairs,  and  to  leave 
a  perpetual  name  in  the  list  of  the  world's  bene- 
factors. 

Has  the  youthful  reader  formed  a  purpose  for 
life?  We  ask  not  whether  he  has  conceived  a 
vulgar  passion  for  fame  or  riches,  but  earnestly 
exhort  him  to  self-enquiry,  whether  he  be 
wasting  existence  in  what  is  termed  amusement, 
or  be  daily  devoting  the  moments  at  his  com- 
mand to  a  diligent  preparation  for  usefulness  ? 
Whether  he  has  hitherto  viewed  life  as  a  journey 
to  be  trod  without  aims  and  ends,  or  a  grand  field 
of  enterprise,  in  which  it  is  both  his  duty  and 
interest  to  become  an  industrious  and  honour- 
able worker?     Has  he  found,  by  personal  ex- 


4  THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

perience^  even  in  the  outset  of  life,  that  time 
spent  in  purposeless  inactivity  or  frivolity,  pro- 
duces no  results  on  which  the  mind  can  dwell 
with  satisfaction?  And  has  he  learned,  from  the 
testimony  of  others,  that  years  so  misspent  bring 
only  a  feeling  of  self-accusation,  which  increases 
in  bitterness  as  the  loiterer  becomes  older,  and 
the  possibility  of  "  redeeming  the  time  "  be- 
comes more  doubtful?  Did  he  ever  reflect  that 
indolence  never  yet  led  to  real  distinction;  that 
sloth  never  yet  opened  the  path  to  independence ; 
that  trifling  never  yet  enabled  a  man  to  make 
useful  or  solid  acquirements? 

If  such  reflections  have  already  found  a  place 
in  the  reader's  mind,  and  created  in  him  some 
degree  of  yearning  to  make  his  life  not  only  a 
monument  of  independence,  but  of  usefulness, 
we  invite  him  to  a  rapid  review  of  the  lives  of 
men  among  whom  he  will  not  only  find  the 
highest  exemplars  of  perseverance,  but  some 
whose  peculiar  difliculties  may  resemble  his 
own,  and  whose  triumphs  may  encourage  him 
to  pursue  a  course  of  similar  excellence.  Pur- 
posing to  awaken  the  spirit  of  exertion  by  the 
presentation  of  striking  examples  rather  than 


SIR   WILLIAM    JONES.  0 

the  rehearsal  of  formal  precepts,  we  proceed 
to  open  our  condensed  chronicle  with  a  notice 
of  the  universal  scholar  just  named,  and  whose 
world-famed  career  has  entitled  him  to  a  first 
place  in  the  records  of  the  "  Triumphs  of  Per- 


mit mniim  |0nes, 

Happily,  had  early  admonitions  of  perseverance 
from  his  mother,  in  whose  widowed  care  he  was 
left  at  three  years  old;  and  who,  "to  his  inces- 
sant importunities  for  information,  which  sh(> 


B  Ji 


b  THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

watchfully  stimulated,"  says  his  biographer. 
Lord  Teignmouth,  "  perpetually  answered, 
^  Kead,  and  you  will  know.'  "  His  earnest 
mind  cleaved  to  the  injunction.  He  could  read 
any  English  book  rapidly,  at  four  years  of  age; 
and,  though  his  right  eye  was  injured  by  an 
accident  at  five,  and  the  sight  of  it  ever  re 
mained  imperfect,  his  determination  to  learn 
triumphed  over  that  impediment.  Again,  the 
commencement  of  life  seemed  discouraging :  he 
had  been  placed  at  Harrow  School,  at  the  age 
of  seven,  but  had  his  thigh-bone  broken  at  nine, 
and  was  compelled  to  be  from  school  for  twelve 
months.  Such  was  his  progress,  in  spite  of 
these  untoward  circumstances,  and  although 
characterised,  let  it  be  especially  observed,  as 
a  boy  "remarkable  for  diligence  and  applica- 
tion rather  than  superiority  of  talent,"  that  he 
was  removed  into  the  upper  school,  at  Harrow, 
in  his  twelfth  year.  At  this  period  he  is  found 
writing  out  the  entire  play  of  the  "  Tempest," 
from  memory,  his  companions  intending  to 
perform  it,  and  not  having  a  copy  in  their 
possession.  Virgil's  Pastorals  and  Ovid's 
Epistles  are,  at  the  same  age,  turned  into  me- 


SIR   WILLIAM   JONES.  7 

lodious  English  verse  by  him ;  he  has  learned 
the  Greek  characters,  for  his  amusement,  and 
now  applies  himself  to  the  language  in  earnest; 
his  mother  has  taught  him  drawing,  during  the 
vacations;  and  he  next  composes  a  drama,  on 
the  classic  story  of  "  Meleager,"  which  is  acted 
in  the  school.  During  the  next  two  years  he 
"  wrote  out  the  exercises  of  many  of  the  boys 
in  the  upper  classes,  and  they  were  glad  to 
become  his  pupils ; "  meanwhile,  in  the  holi- 
days, he  learned  French  and  arithmetic. 

But  this  early  and  unremitting  tension  of  the 
mind,  did  it  not  leave  the  heart  uncultured? 
"Were  '  not  pride  and  overweening  growing 
within,  and  did  not  sourness  of  temper  display 
itself,  and  repel  some  whom  the  young  scholar's 
acquirements  might  otherwise  have  attached  to 
him  ?  Ah !  youthful  reader,  thou  wilt  never 
find  any  so  proud  as  the  ignorant ;  and  if  thou 
wouldst  not  have  thy  heart  become  a  garden 
of  rank  and  pestilential  weeds,  leave  not  the 
key  thereof  in  the  soft  hand  of  Indolence,  but 
entrust  it  to  the  sinewed  grasp  of  Industry. 
What  testimony  give  his  early  companions  to 
the  temper  and  bearing  of  young  Jones  ?     The 


8  THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

celebrated  Dr.  Parr, — in  his  own  person  also 
a  high  exemplar  of  the  virtue  we  are  incul- 
cating,— was  his  playmate  in  boyhood,  remained 
his  ardent  friend  in  manhood,  and  never  spoke 
of  their  early  attachment  without  deep  feeling. 
Dr.  Bennet,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Cloyne,  thus 
speaks  of  Sir  William  Jones  :  "  I  knew  him 
from  the  early  age  of  eight  or  nine,  and  he 
was  always  an  uncommon  boy.  I  loved  him 
and  revered  him ;  and  though  one  or  two 
years  older  than  he  was,  was  always  instructed 
by  him."  .  .  .  "  In  a  word,  I  can  only  say  of 
this  amiable  and  wonderful  man,  that  he  had 
more  virtues  and  less  faults  than  I  ever  yet 
saw  in  any  human  being ;  and  that  the  good- 
ness of  his  head,  admirable  as  it  was,  was  ex- 
ceeded by  that  of  his  heart." 

With  the  boys,  generally,  he  was  a  favourite. 
Dr.  Sumner,  who  succeeded  Dr.  Thackeray, 
used  to  say  Jones  knew  more  Greek  than  him- 
self. He  soon  learned  the  Arabic  characters, 
and  was  already  able  to  read  Hebrew.  A  mere 
stripling,  yet  he  would  devote  whole  nights  to 
study,  taking  coffee  or  tea,  as  an  antidote  to 
drowsiness      Strangers  were  accustomed  to  en- 


SIR   WILLIAM    JONES.  9 

quire  for  him,  at  the  school,  under  the  title  of 
^'the  great  scholar."  But  Dr.  Sumner,  during 
the  last  months  spent  at  Harrow,  was  obliged 
to  interdict  the  juvenile  "  great  scholar's  "  ap- 
plication, in  consequence  of  a  returning  weak- 
ness in  his  injured  eye ;  yet  he  continued  to 
compose,  and  dictated  to  younger  students; 
alternately  practising  the  games  of  Philidor, 
and  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  chess.  He  had 
added  a  knowledge  of  botany  and  fossils  to 
the  acquirements  already  mentioned,  and  had 
learned  Italian  during  his  last  vacation. 

Let  us  mark,  again,  whether  all  this  ardent 
intellectual  activity  cramps  the  right  growth  of 
the  affections,  and  warps  the  heart's  sense  of 
filial  duty.  "  His  mother,"  sa^s  his  excellent 
biographer,  "  allowed  him  unlimited  credit  on 
her  purse;  but  of  this  indulgence,  as  he  knew 
her  finances  were  restricted,  he  availed  himself 
no  further  than  to  purchase  such  books  as  were 
essential  to  his  improvement."  And  when  he 
is  removed,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  to  Univer- 
sity College,  Oxford,  he  is  not  anxious  to  enter 
the  world  without  restraint;  his  mother  goes 
to  reside  at  Oxford,   "  at  her  son's  request." 


10         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

And  how  he  toiled^  and  wished  for  college 
honours,  not  for  vain  distinction,  riot  for  love 
of  gain,  but  from  the  healthy  growth  of  that 
filial  affection,  which  had  strengthened  with  his 
judgment  and  power  of  reflection!  He  "anxi- 
ously wished  for  a  fellowship"  says  Lord  Teign- 
mouth,  "  to  enable  him  to  draw  less  frequently 
upon  his  mother,  knowing  the  contracted  nature 
of  her  income."  His  heart  was  soon  to  be 
gratified. 

He  commenced  Arabic  zealously,  soon  after 
reaching  the  University;  he  perused,  with 
assiduity,  all  the  Greek  poets  and  historians  of 
note;  he  read  the  entire  works  of  Plato  and 
Lucian,  with  commentaries,  constantly  ready, 
with  a  pen  in  his  hand,  to  make  any  remark 
that  he  judged  worth  preserving.  What  a 
contrast  to  the  "reader  for  amusement,"  who 
will  leave  the  priceless  treasure  of  a  book  un- 
gathered,  because  it  is  hid  in  what  he  calls  a 
^^lumberiQg  folio,"  and  it  wearies  his  hands, 
or  it  is  inconvenient  to  read  it  while  lying 
along  at  ease,  on  the  sofa!  Yet  this  "great 
scholar"  was  no  mere  musty  book-worm;  he 
did  not  claim  kindred  with  Dryasdust.     While 


SIR  WILLIAM  JONES.  11 

passing  Kis  vacations  in  London,  he  daily  at- 
tended the  noted  schools  of  Angelo,  and  ac- 
quired a  skill  in  horsemanship  and  fencing, 
as  elegant  accomplishments;  his  evenings,  at 
these  seasons,  being  devoted  to  the  perusal  of 
the  best  Italian,  Spanish  and  Portuguese  writers. 
At  the  University,  how  was  the  stripling  urging 
his  way  into  the  regions  of  oriental  learning 
— that  grand  high-road  of  his  fame,  that  was 
to  be !  He  had  found  Mirza,  a  Syrian,  who 
possessed  a  knowledge  of  the  vernacular  Arabic, 
and  spent  some  portion  of  every  morning  in 
writing  out  a  translation  of  Galland's  French 
version  of  the  Arabian  Tales  into  Arabic,  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Syrian ;  and  he  then  corrected 
the  grammatical  inaccuracies  by  the  help  of 
lexicons.  From  the  Arabic  he  urged  his  way 
into  the  Persian,  becoming  soon  enraptured 
with  that  most  elegant  of  all  eastern  languages. 
Such  was  this  true  disciple  of  "  Perseverance," 
at  the  age  of  nineteen. 

And  now  some  measure  of  the  rewards  of 
industr}%  honour  and  virtue  begin  to  alight 
upon  him.  He  is  appointed  tutor  to  Lord 
Althorpe,  son   of  the   literary  Earl   Spencer, 


12  THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

finds  his  pupil  possessed  of  a  mind  and  dis- 
position that  will  render  his  office  delightful ; 
has  the  range  of  one  of  the  most  splendid  pri- 
vate libraries  in  the  kingdom,  together  with 
the  refined  and  agreeable  society  of  Wimbledon 
Park ;  and  is  presented,  soon  after,  with  a 
fellowship,  by  his  college. 

Mark  well,  from  two  incidents  which  occur 
about  this  time,  what  high  conscientiousness, 
deep  modesty,  and  sterling  independence  cha- 
racterise the  true  scholar.  The  Duke  of  Graf- 
ton, then  premier,  offered  him  the  situation  of 
government  interpreter  for  eastern  languages. 
He  declined  it,  recommending  the  Syrian, 
Mirza,  as  one  better  qualified  to  fill  it  than 
himself.  His  recommendation  was  neglected; 
and  his  biographer  remarks  that  "a  better 
knowledge  of  the  world  would  have  led  him  to 
accept  the  office,  and  to  convey  the  emoluments 
to  his  friend  Mirza.  He  was  too  ingenuous  to 
do  so.  He  saw  the  excellent  lady  who  after- 
wards became  his  wife,  and  devoted  companion 
in  study;  but  "  his  fixed  ideas  of  an  honourable 
independence,  and  a  determined  resolution 
never  to  owe  his  fortune  to  a  wife,  or  her  kin- 


SIR   WILLIAM   JONES.  18 

« 

dred,  excluded  all  ideas  of  a  matrimonial  con- 
nection," at  that  period,  although  the  affection 
he  had  conceived  was  ardent. 

In  the  year  of  his  majority,  we  find  him 
commencing  his  famous  "Commentaries  on 
Asiatic  Poetry ; "  copying  the  keys  of  the 
Chinese  language;  learning  German,  by  con- 
versation, grammar  and  dictionary,  during 
three  weeks,  passed  at  Spa,  with  his  noble 
pupil ;  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  broad- 
sword exercise  from  an  old  pensioner  at 
Chelsea ;  continuing  to  attend  the  two  schools 
of  Signor  Angelo ;  and  secretly  taking  lessons 
in  dancing,  from  Gallini,  the  dancing-master 
of  Earl  Spencer's  family,  until  he  surprises 
the  elegant  inhabitants  of  Wimbledon,  by  join- 
ing with  grace  in  the  amusements  of  their 
evening  parties. 

Such  was  the  truly  magnificent  advancement 
made  by  this  illustrious  disciple  of  "  Perse- 
verance," up  to  the  age  of  twenty-one.  Think, 
reader,  how  much  may  be  done  in  the  opening 
oi  life !  How  elevated  the  course  of  Sir 
William  Jones!  What  cheering  self-approval 
mustj-he  have  experienced,  in  looking  back  on 


14        THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

the  youthful  years  thus  industriously  spent  5 
but  what  humbling  reflection,  what  severe  self- 
laceration  would,  he  have  felt,  had  he  allowed 
indolence  to  master  him,  ease  to  enervate  him, 
listlessness  and  dissipation  to  render  him  a 
nameless  and  worthless  nothing  in  the  world ! 

At  the  close  of  his  twenty-first  year  he  pe- 
ruses the  little  treatise  of  our  ancient  lawyer, 
Fortescue,  in  praise  of  the  laws  of  England. 
His  large  learning  enabled  him  to  compare  the 
laws  of  other  countries  with  his  own ;  and 
though  he  had,  hitherto,  enthusiastically  pre- 
ferred the  laws  of  republican  Greece,  reflection, 
on  the  perusal  of  this  treatise,  led  him  to  prefer 
the  laws  of  England  to  all  others.  His  noble 
biographer  adds  a  remark  which  indicates  the 
solidity  and  perspicacity  of  Sir  William  Jones's 
judgment : — "  He  was  not,  however,  regardless 
of  the  deviations  in  practice  from  the  theoretical 
perfection  of  the  constitution,  in  a  contested 
election,  of  which  he  was  an  unwilling  spec- 
tator." Yet  the  perfect  theory  of  our  constitu- 
tion so  far  attracted  him,  as  to  lead  him,  from 
this  time,  to  the  resolve  of  uniting  the  study 
of  the  law  to  his   great  philological  acquire- 


SIR   WILLIAM   JONES.  15 

ments ;  his  purpose  was  neither  rashly  formed, 
nor  soon  relinquished  like  the  miscalled  "  pur- 
poses *'  of  weak  men  and  idlejs ;  it  resulted  in 
his  elevation  to  high  and  honourable  usefulness, 
in  the  lapse  of  a  few  years. 

In  his  twenty-second  year  the  "great  scholar" 
undertakes  a  task  which  no  other  quality  than 
perseverance  could  have  enabled  him  to  accom- 
plish. The  King  of  Denmark,  then  on  a  visit 
to  this  country,  brought  over  with  him  an 
eastern  manuscript,  containing  a  life  of  Nadir 
Shah,  and  expressed  his  wish  to  the  officers  of 
government  to  have  it  translated  into  French, 
by  an  English  scholar.  The  under  secretary  of 
state  applied  to  Sir  William  Jones,  who  recom- 
mended Major  Dow,  the  able  translator  of  a 
Persian  history,  to  perform  the  work.  Major 
Dow  refused;  and,  though  hints  of  greater  pa- 
tronage did  not  influence  the  inclination  of  Sir 
William  Jones,  his  reflection  that  the  reputation 
of  English  learning  would  be  dishonoured  by 
the  Danish  king  taking  back  the  manuscript, 
with  a  report  that  no  scholar  in  our  country 
had  courage  to  undertake  the  difficult  labour, 
impelled  him  to  enter  on  it.     The  fact  that  he 


16         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

had  a  French  style  to  acquire,  in  order  to  dis- 
charge his  task,  and  had,  even  then,  to  get  a 
native  Frenchman  to  go  over  the  translation, 
to  render  it  a  scholar-like  production,  made 
the  undertaking  extremely  arduous.  It  was 
however,  accomplished  magnificently;  and  the 
adventurous  translator  added  a  treatise  on 
oriental  poetry,  "such  as  no  other  person  in 
England  could  then  have  written."  He  was 
immediately  afterwards  made  a  member  of  the 
Koyal  Society  of  Copenhagen,  and  was  recom- 
mended by  the  King  of  Denmark  to  the  parti- 
cidar  patronage  of  his  own  sovereign. 

At  twenty-six  he  was  made  a  fellow  of  the 
Koyal  Society  of  England,  and  took  his  degree 
of  Master  of  Arts,  the  year  after.  Meanwhile 
he  was  composing  his  celebrated  Persian  gram- 
mar ;  had  found  the  means  of  entering  eifec- 
tively  on  the  study  of  Chinese,  a  language  at 
that  time  surrounded  with  unspeakable  diffi- 
culties; had  written  part  of  a  Turkish  history; 
and  was  assiduously  copying  Arabic  manuscripts 
in  the  Bodleian.  The  "  Commentaries  on  Asia- 
tic Poetry"  were  published  in  his  twenty-eighth 
year,  being  five  years  after  they  were  finished; 


SIR   WILLIAM   JONES.  IT 

his  modesty,  that  invariable  attendant  of  true 
merit,  and  his  love  of  correctness,  having  in- 
duced him  to  lay  the  manuscript  before  Dr. 
Parr,  and  other  profound  judges,  ere  he  ventured 
to  give  his  composition  to  the  world.  Amidst 
so  many  absorbing  engagements,  his  biographer 
still  notes  the  correct  state  of  his  heart.  He 
was  a  regular  correspondent  with  his  excellent 
mother,  and  ever  paid  the  most  affectionate 
attention  to  her  and  his  sister. 

In  his  twenty-eighth  year  he  devotes  himself 
more  exclusively  to  his  legal  studies,  goes  the 
Oxford  circuit  after  being  called  to  the  bar, 
and  afterwards  attends  regularly  at  Westminster 
Hall.  Except  the  publication  of  a  translation 
of  the  speeches  of  Isaeus,  he  performs  no  remark- 
able literary  labour  for  the  next  few  years ;  his 
professional  practice  having  become  very  con- 
siderable, and  his  thoughts  being  strongly  direc- 
ted towards  a  vacant  judgeship,  at  Calcutta,  as 
the  situation  in  which  he  felt  assured,  by  the 
union  of  his  legal  knowledge  with  his  skill  in 
oriental  languages,  he  could  best  serve  the  in- 
terests of  learning  and  of  mankind. 

Before  this  object  of  his  laudable  ambition 

c  2 


18         THE   TRIUMPHS   OP   PERSEVERANCE. 

was  attained,  however.  Sir  William  Jones  gave 
proof,  as  our  great  Englishman,  Milton,  had 
given  before  him,  that  the  mightiest  erudition 
does  not  narrow,  but  serves  truly  to  enlarge 
the  mind,  and  to  nourish  its  sympathies  with 
the  great  brotherhood  of  humanity.  The  war 
with  the  United  States  of  America  had  com- 
menced, and  he  declared  himself  against  it ;  he 
wrote  a  splendid  Latin  ode,  entitled  "Liberty," 
in  which  his  patriotic  and  philanthropic  senti- 
ments are  most  nobly  embodied ;  and  became  a 
candidate,  on  what  are  now  called  "liberal  prin- 
ciples," for  the  representation  of  Oxford.  He 
withdrew,  after  further  reflection,  from  the  can- 
didateship,  still  purposing  to  devote  his  life  to 
the  East,  but  not  before  he  had  testified  his 
disapproval  of  harsh  ministerial  measures,  by 
publishing  an  "  Enquiry  into  the  legal  mode 
of  suppressing  riots,  with  a  constitutional  plan 
for  their  suppression."  Finally,  to  the  record 
of  this  part  of  his  hfe.  Lord  Teignmouth  adds 
the  relation,  that  Sir  William  Jones  had  found 
time  to  attend  the  lectures  of  the  celebrated 
John  Hunter,  and  to  acquire  some  knowledge 
of  anatomy;  while  he  had  advanced  sufBciently 


SIR   WILLIAM   JONES.  19 

far  into  the  mathematics  to  be  able  to  read 
and  understand  the  "Principia,"  of  Sir  Isaac 
Newton. 

The  last  eleven  years  of  the  illustrious  scho- 
lar's life,  form  the  most  brilliant  part  of  his 
career,  and  only  leave  us  to  lament  that  his 
days  were  not  more  extended.  In  the  month 
of  March,  1783,  being  then  in  his  thirty-seventh 
year  he  was  appointed  a  judge  of  the  supreme 
court  of  judicature,  FortwiUiam,  Calcutta,  and 
on  that  occasion  received  the  honour  of  knight- 
hood. In  the  following  month  he  married  the 
eldest  daughter  of  Dr.  Shipley,  Bishop  of  St. 
Asaph,  and  thus  happy  in  a  union  with  the  lady 
to  whom  he  had  been  long  devoted,  almost  im- 
mediately embarked  for  India. 

As  a  concluding  lesson  from  the  life  of  Sir 
William  Jones,  let  us  note  how  unsubduable  is 
the  intellect  trained  by  long  and  early  habits 
of  perseverance,  under  the  corrupting  and  en- 
feebling influences  of  honours  and  prosperity. 
On  the  voyage,  the  "  great  scholar  "  drew  up 
a  list  of  "  Objects  of  Enquiry."  If  he  could 
have  fulfilled  the  gigantic  schemes  which  were 
thus  unfolding  themselves  to  his  ardent  mind. 


20         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

the  world  must  have  been  stricken  with  amaze- 
ment. The  list  is  too  long  to  be  detailed  here ; 
suffice  it  to  say,  that  it  enumerates  the  "Laws 
of  the  Hindus  and  Mahommedans/'  "  The 
History  of  the  Ancient  World; "  all  the  sciences, 
all  the  arts  and  inventions  of  all  the  Asiatic 
nations,  and  the  various  kinds  of  government 
in  India.  Following  the  list  of  "Objects  of 
Enquiry,"  is  a  sketch  of  works  he  purposes  to 
write  and  publish;  including  "  Elements  of  the 
Laws  of  England,"  "  History  of  the  American 
War,"  an  epic  poem,  to  be  entitled  "Britain 
Discovered,"  "Speeches,  Political  and  Foren- 
sic," "Dialogues, Philosophical  and  Historical," 
and  a  volume  of  letters,  with  translations  of  some 
portions  of  the  scriptures  into  Arabic  and  Per- 
sian. 

Intense  and  indefatigable  labour  enabled 
him  to  complete  his  masterly  "Digest  of 
Mahommedan  and  Hindu  Law,"  but  to  accom- 
plish this  work,  so  invaluable  to  the  European 
conquerors  of  Hindoostan,he  had  first,  critically, 
to  master  the  Sanscrit,  at  once  the  most  perfect 
and  most  difficult  of  known  languages.  If  it 
be  remembered  that  Sir  William  Jones  was  also 


SIR    WILLIAM    JONES. 


n 


most  active  in  the  discharge  of  his  judicial 
duties,  our  admiration  will  be  increased.  His 
translation  of  the  "Ordinances  of  Menu,"  a 
Sanscrit  work,  displaying  the  Hindoo  system  of 
religious  and  civil  duties, — and  of  the  Indian 
drama  of  "Sacontala,"  written  a  century  before 
the  Christian  era, — and  his  production  of  a  "Dis- 
sertation on  the  Gods  of  Greece,  Italy  and 
Kome,"  were  among  the  last  of  his  complete 
works.  He  also  edited  the  first  volume  of  the 
"  Asiatic  Researches ;  "  and  gave  an  impetus  to 
eastern  enquiry  among  Europeans,  by  insti- 
tuting the  Asiatic  Society,  of  which  he  was  the 
first  president.  His  annual  discourses  before 
that  assembly  have  been  published,  and  are  well 
known,  and  highly  valued. 

The  death  of  this  great  and  good  man,  though 
sudden,  being  occasioned  by  the  rapid  liver  com- 
plaint of  Bengal,  was  as  peaceful  as  his  life  had 
been  noble  and  virtuous.  A  friend  who  saw 
him  die  says  that  he  expired  "  without  a  groan, 
and  with  a  serene  and  complacent  look."  His 
death  took  place  on  the  27th  April,  1794,  when 
he  was  only  in  his  forty-eighth  year;  yet  he 
had  acquired  a  "  critical  knowledge "  of  eight 


^J^         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

languages — English,  Latin,  French,  Italian, 
Greek,  Arabic,  Persian,  Sanscrit;  he  knew  eight 
others  less  perfectly,  but  was  able  to  read  them 
with  the  occasional  use  of  a  dictionary — Spanish, 
Portuguese,  German,  Runic,  Hebrew,  Ben- 
galee, Hindostanee,  Turkish  ;  and  he  knew  so 
much  of  twelve  other  tongues,  that  they  were 
perfectly  attainable  by  him,  had  life  and  leisure 
permitted  his  continued  application  to  them — 
Tibetian,  Pali,  Phalavi,  Deri,  E-ussian,  Syriac, 
Ethiopic,  Coptic,  Welsh,  Swedish,  Dutch, 
Chinese.  Twenty-eight  languages  in  all;  such 
is  his  own  account.  When  you  sum  up  the 
other  diversified  accomplishments  and  attain- 
ments of  the  scarce  forty-eight  years  of  -Sir 
William  Jones,  reflect  deeply,  youthful  reader, 
on  what  may  be  achieved  by  "  perseverance," 
and  when  you  have  reflected — resolve. 

To  that  emphatic  early  lesson  of  "  read  and 
you  will  learn,"  and  to  his  ready  opportunities 
and  means  of  culture,  we  must,  undoubtedly, 
attribute  much  of  the  "great  scholar's"  success. 
In  the  life  of  one  still  living,  and  enjoying  the 
honours  and  rewards  of  virtuous  perseverance, 
it  will  be  seen  that  even  devoid  of  help,  un- 


DR.    SAMUEL   LEE.  23 

stimulated  by  any  aflfectionate  voice  in  the 
outset,  and  surrounded  with  discouragements, 
ahnost  at  every  step,  the  cultivation  of  this  grand 
quality  infallibly  leads  on  to  signal  triumph. 

Now  Regius  Professor  of  Hebrew,  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge,  being  the  son  of  a  poor 
widow,  who  was  left  to  struggle  for  the  support 
of  two  younger  children,  was  apprenticed  to  a 
carpenter,  at  twelve  years  of  age,  after  receiving 
a  merely  elementary  instruction  in  reading, 
writing  and  arithmetic,  in  the  charity-school  of 
the  village  of  Longmore,  in  Shropshire.  His 
love  of  books  became  fervent,  and  the  Latin 
quotations  he  found  in  such  as  were  within  his 
reach,  kindled  a  desire  to  penetrate  the  mystery 
of  their  meaning.  The  sounds  of  the  language, 
too,  which  he  heard  in  a  Catholic  chapel,  where 
his  master  had  undertaken  some  repairs,  in- 
creased this  desire.  At  seventeen,  he  purchased 
"  Ruddiman's  Latin  Rudiments,"  and  soon 
committed  the  whole  to  memory.  With  the 
help    of  "Corderius'    Colloquies,"    "  Entick's 


24         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

Dictionary/'  and  "  Beza's  Testament/'  he 
began  to  make  his  way  into  the  vestibule  of 
Roman  learning ;  but  of  the  magnificent  inner- 
glory  he  had,  as  yet,  scarcely  caught  a  glimpse. 
The  obstacles  seemed  so  great  for  an  unassisted 
adventurer,  that  he  one  day  besought  a  priest 
of  the  chapel,  where  he  was  still  at  work,  to 
afford  him  some  help.  "  Charity  begins  at 
home ! "  was  the  repelling  reply  to  his  appli- 
cation ;  but,  whether  meant  to  indicate  the 
priest's  own  need  of  instruction,  or  sordid  un- 
willingness to  afford  his  help  without  pecuniary 
remuneration,  does  not  appear.  Unchilled  by 
this  repulse,  the  young  and  unfriended  disciple 
of  ^'perseverance "  girt  up  ''the  loins  of  his 
mind"  for  his  solitary  but  onward  travel.  Yet 
how  uncheering  the  landscape  around  him! 
Think  of  it,  and  blush,  young  reader,  if  thou 
art  surrounded  with  ease  and  comfort,  but  hast 
yielded  to  indolence ;  ponder  on  it,  and  take 
courage,  if  thou  art  the  companion  of  hard- 
ship, but  resolvest  to  be  a  man,  one  day,  amongst 
men.  Young  Lee's  wages  were  but  six  shillings 
weekly,  at  seventeen  years  old ;  and  from  this 
small  sum  he  had  not  only  to  find  food,  but 


DR.   SAMUEL   LEE.  185 

to  pay  for  his  washing  and  lodging.  The  next 
year  his  weekly  income  was  increased  one  shil- 
ling, and  the  year  following,  another.  Privation, 
even  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  he  had  to  suffer, 
not  seldom,  in  order  to  enable  himself  to  possess 
what  he  desired,  now  more  intensely  than  ever. 
He  successively  purchased  a  Latin  Bible,  Caesar, 
Justin,  Sallust,  Cicero,  Virgil,  Horace,  Ovid ; 
having  frequently  to  sell  his  volume  as  soon  as 
he  had  mastered  it,  in  order  to  buy  another. 
But  what  of  that?  The  true  disciple  of  perse- 
verance looks  onward  with  hope — hope  which 
is  not  fantastic,  but  founded  in  the  firmest  reason 
— to  the  day  when  his  meritorious  and  ennobling 
toil  shall  have  its  happy  fruition,  and  he  shall 
know  no  scarcity  of  books. 

Conquest  of  one  langiiage  has  inspired  him 
with  zeal  for  further  victory ;  it  is  the  genuine 
nature  of  enterprise.  Freed  from  his  appren- 
ticeship, he  purchases  a  Greek  grammar,  testa- 
ment, lexicon,  and  exercises;  and  soon,  the  self- 
taught  carpenter,  the  scholar  of  toil  and  priva- 
tion, holds  converse,  in  their  own  superlative 
tongue,  with  the  simple  elegance  of  Xenophon, 
the  eloquence  and  wisdom  of  Plato,  and  the  wit 

D 


26        THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

of  Lucian ;  he  becomes  familiar  with  the  glorious 
"  Iliad,"  with  the  pathos  and  refinement,  the 
force  and  splendour  of  the  "  Antigone,"  of 
Sophocles. 

^^  Unaided  by  any  instructor,  uncheered  by 
any  literary  companion,"  says  one  who  narrates 
the  circumstances  of  his  early  career,  "he  still 
persevered."  What  wonder,  when  he  had  dis- 
covered so  much  to  cheer  him,  in  the  delectable 
mental  realm  he  was  thus  subduing  for  himself! 
And  he  was  now  endued  with  the  full  energy  of 
conquest.  He  purchased  "  Bythner's  Hebrew 
Grammar,"  and  "  Lyra  Prophetica,"  with  a 
Hebrew  Psalter,  and  was  soon  able  to  read  the 
Psalms  in  the  original.  Buxtorf's  grammar 
and  lexicon,  with  a  Hebrew  Bible  followed; 
an  accident  threw  in  his  way  the  "Targum"  of 
Onkelo's,  and  with  the  Chaldee  grammar  in 
Bythner,  and  Schindler's  lexicon,  he  was  soon 
able  to  read  it.  Another  effort,  and  he  was  able 
to  read  the  Syriac  testament,  and  the  Samaritan 
Pentateuch,  thus  gaining  acquaintance  with  four 
branches  of  the  ancient  Aramcean  or  Shemitic 
family  of  languages,  in  addition  to  his  knowledge 
of  the  two  grand  Pelasgic  dialects': 


DR.    SAMUEL   LEE.  21 

He  wasnowfive-and-twenty,and  had  mastered 
six  languages,  without  the  slightest  help  from 
any  living  instructor ;  some  of  the  last  named 
books  were  heavily  expensive;  yet,  true  to  the 
nobility  of  life  that  had  distinguished  his  early 
youth,  he  had  not  relaxed  the  reins  of  economy, 
but  had  purchased  a  chest  of  tools,  which  had 
cost  him  twenty-five  pounds. 

Suddenly  an  event  befel  him  which  seemed 
to  wither  not  only  his  prospects  of  farther  mental 
advancement,  but  plunged  him  into  the  deepest 
distress.  A  fire,  which  broke  out  in  a  house  he 
was  repairing,  consumed  his  chest  of  tools ;  and, 
as  he  had  no  money  to  purchase  more,  and  had 
now  to  feel  solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  an  affec- 
tionate wife,  as  well  as  for  himself,  his  affliction 
was  heavy.  In  this  distracting  difficulty,  he 
turned  his  thoughts  towards  commencing  a 
village  school,  but  even  for  this  he  lacked  the 
means  of  procuring  the  necessary,  though 
scanty,  furniture.  Uprightness  and  meritorious 
industry,  however,  seldom  fail  to  attract  bene- 
volent help  to  a  man  in  need.  Archdeacon 
Corbett,  the  resident  philanthropic  clergyman 
of  Longmore,  heard  of  Samuel  Lee's  distress. 


%b         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

sent  for  him,  and  on  hearing  the  relation  of  his 
laudable  struggles,  used  his  interest  to  place 
him  in  the  mastership  of  Shrewsbury  Charity- 
school,  giving  him  what  was  of  still  higher 
value,  an  introduction  to  the  great  oriental 
scholar,  Dr.  Jonathan  Scott. 

New  triumphs  succeeded  his  misfortunes, 
and  a  cheering  and  honourable  future  was  pre- 
paring. Dr.  Scott  put  into  the  hands  of  his 
new  and  humble  fi-iend,  elementary  books  on 
Arabic,  Persian,  and  Hindostanee;  and,  in  a 
few  months,  the  disciple  of  perseverance  was 
not  only  able  to  read  and  translate,  but  even 
essayed  to  compose  in  his  newly-acquired  lan- 
guages. So  effectually  had  he  mastered  these 
eastern  tongues,  that  the  good  doctor  used  his 
influence  in  introducing  him  as  private  tutor  to 
sons  of  gentlemen  going  out  to  India;  and,  after 
another  brief  probation,  procured  him  admission 
into  Queen's  College,  Cambridge. 

Our  sketch  of  this  remarkable  living  scholar 
may  here  be  cut  short.  He  has  made  himself 
master  of  twenty  languages,  distinguished  him- 
self alike  by  the  virtue  of  his  private  life,  his 
practical  eloquence  in  the  pulpit,  and  zeal  for 


DR.    SAMUEL   LEE.  29 

the  church,  of  which  he  is  an  honoured  memher; 
and,  in  addition  to  the  service  he  has  rendered 
to  oriental  literature,  by  his  new  Hebrew  gram- 
mar and  lexicon,  his  revision  of  Sir  William 
Jones's  Persian  grammar,  and  a  number  of 
philological  tracts,  has  won  respect  and  grati- 
tude, by  diligent  and  laborious  supervision  of 
numerous  translations  of  the  Scriptures  into 
eastern  tongues,  prepared  by  the  direction,  and 
at  the  cost  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society. 

If  the  young  scholar  be  bent  on  the  acquire- 
ment of  languages,  he  will  find,  in  the  lives  of 
Alexander,  Murray,  Leyden,  Heyne,  Carey, 
Marshman,  Morrison,  Magliabechi,  and  a  hun- 
dred others,  striking  proofs  of  the  ease  with 
which  the  mind  overcomes  all  difficulties  when 
it  is  armed  with  determination,  and  never 
becomes  a  recreant  from  the  banner  of  perse- 
verance. 


D  2 


^^itx  i\t  Btmt—^uV^m. 


SHAZSPEAEE.—SPENSEE.— JOHNSON.— aiFFOED. 
aiBBON. 

Creative  genius  is  popularly  held  to  be  de- 
pendent on  faculties  widely  diverse  from  those 
required  by  the  mere  man  of  learning.  The 
linguist  is  usually  regarded  as  a  traveller  on  a 
beaten  track;  the  poet  as  a  discoverer  of  new 
regions.  Success  for  the  man  of  learning  is 
considered  to  depend  on  diligence  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  the  memory  and  judgment ;  while 
obedience  to  impulse  seems  to  be  the  mental 
law  popularly  allotted  to  poets.  Let  the  young 
reader  enquire  for  himself  whether  there  is  not 
something  of  fallacy  in  this  popular  notion. 


■'>?(■■ 


-^ 


W^^'^W ' 


SHAKSPEAEB. 


31 


S 


the  most  highly  endowed  of  human  intelligences, 
was  under  as  great  necessity  of  learning  the 
vocabulary  of  the  English  tongue  as  the  very 
commonest  mind.  He,  like  aU  other  men,  how- 
ever inferior  to  him  in  understanding  or  imagi- 
nation, was  bom  without  any  innate  knowledge 
of  things,  or  their  natures,  words,  or  the  rides 
for  fashioning  them  in  order,  or  combining  them 
with  grace  and  harmony,  eloquence  and  strength. 
Every  author  of  the  first  class  was  in  the  same 


S2        THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

predicament  mentally  at  birth;  they  had  every 
thing  to  learn,  and  the  perfection  of  their  learn- 
ing depended  on  their  own  effort.  It  may  be 
equally  affirmed,  then,  of  the  highest  poet  and 
the  greatest  linguist,  of  Shakspeare  and  Sir 
William  Jones,  that  neither  had  any  "royal 
road"  for  gaining  his  peculiar  eminence. 

The  little  we  know  of  the  personal  history  of 
Shakspeare  renders  it  necessary  for  us  to  at- 
tribute a  very  ample  measure  of  his  unrivalled 
excellence  to  that  quality  of  the  mind  which  we 
are  insisting  upon  as  requisite  for  the  perform- 
ance of  great  and  exalted  labours.  If  it  be  true 
that  schoolmasters  taught  him  little,  how  inde- 
fatigable must  have  been  that  perseverance 
which  enabled  him,  not  simply  to  equal,  but 
so  immeasurably  to  transcend  his  more  learned 
contemporaries  and  fellow -workers,  in  the 
wealth  of  his  language,  and  in  the  beauty  and 
fitness  of  its  application !  If  his  helps  were 
few,  so  much  the  more  astonishing  is  the 
energy  and  continuity  of  effort  which  issued 
in  securing  for  him  who  exerted  it  the  highest 
name  in  the  world's  literature.  Nor  can  minds 
of  primal    order    be   satisfied  with  a  passing 


SPENSER.  S3 

ovation  that  may  be  forgotten ;  they  thirst  to 
render  their  triumphs  monumental.  Our  grand 
dramatist  piled  effort  upon  effort,  until  he  left 
to  the  world  the  priceless  legacy  of  his  thirty- 
seven  plays.  His  mind  had  none  of  the  sickly 
quality  which  views  a  settled  form  of  com- 
position as  irksome,  and  indulges  its  unhealthy 
fantasies  in  irregular  and  useless  essays.  He 
wrought  out  his  magnificent  and  self-appointed 
task  to  the  end;  he  made  his  own  monument 
worthy  of  himself. 

was  not  less  an  exemplar  of  diligence  than  of 
skill  in  the  architecture  of  verse.  The  mere 
task-work  of  constructing  three  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  fifty-four  stanzas,  comprising  forty- 
four  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
lines,  would  have  wearied  out  the  industry  of 
any  mind  whose  powers  were  not  indefatigable. 
He  died,  too,  before  his  magnificent  design  was 
complete,  or  the  elaborate  monument  of  his 
fame  might  have  been  still  more  colossal.  Su- 
periority to  mental  indolence,  so  manifest  in 


34         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

the  lives  of  Shakspeare  and  Spenser,  is  equally 
noticeable  in  the  cases  of  Chaucer  and  Milton, 
of  Ben  Jonson  and  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  of 
Dryden  and  Pope,  of  Byron  and  Wordsworth, 


our  other  great  poets ;  and,  indeed,  in  the  his- 
tories of  the  great  poets  of  all  nations.  When 
the  quantity  of  their  composition  is  considered, 
and  it  is  remembered  how  much  thought  must 
have  been  expended  in  the  bringing  together  of 
choice  materials,  how  much  care  in  the  polishing 
and  adorning  of  each  part,  and  of  the  whole, 
of  their  seemly  fabrics,  the  degree  of  perseve- 
rance exercised  in  the  erection  of  so  many  im- 


JOHNSON.  35 

mortal  superstructures  of  the  mind  is  presented 
to  reflection  with  commanding  self-evidence. 
But  let  us  track,  more  circumstantially,  the  life- 
path,  so  proverbial  for  vicissitude,  of  some  of 
the  children  of  genius,  that  we  may  see  how 
the  energy  of  true  men  is  neither  quelled  by 
difficulty,  nor  enervated  by  success. 

afterwards  so  famous  as  the  great  arbiter  of 
literary  criticism,  is  found  leaving  college  with- 
out a  degree,  and  from  sheer  poverty,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two.  The  sale  of  his  deceased 
father's  effects,  a  few  months  after,  affords  him 
but  twenty  pounds,  and  he  is  constrained  to 
become  an  usher  in  a  grammar  school  in  Lei- 
cestershire. In  the  next  year  he  performs  a 
translation  of  "  Lobo's  Voyage  to  Abyssinia'* 
for  a  Birmingham  bookseller,  returns  to  Litch- 
field, his  birth-place,  and  publishes  proposals 
for  printing,  by  subscription,  the  Latin  poems 
of  Politian,  the  life  of  that  author,  and  a  history 
of  Latin  poetry  from  the  era  of  Petrarch  to  the 
time  of  Politian.     His  project  failed  to  attract 


36 


THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 


patrons,  and  he  next  offered  his  services  to 
Cave,  the  original  projector  of  the  "Gentleman's 
Magazine."  Cave  accepted  his  offer,  but  on 
conditions  which  compelled  Johnson  to  make 


application  elsewhere  for  earning  the  means  of 
living.  He  again  offered  to  become  assistant 
to  the  master  of  a  grammar  school;  but,  in 
spite  of  the  great  learning  he  had  even  then 
acquired,  he  was  rejected,  from  the  fear  that 


JOHNSON.  37 

his  peculiar  nervous  and  involuntary  gestures 
would  render  him  an  object  of  ridicule  with  his 
pupils.  Such  was  one  of  the  disabilities  of  con- 
stitution under  which  this  humbly-born  and 
strong-minded  man  laboured  through  life. 

Won,  not  by  his  ungainly  person,  but  by 
the  high  qualities  of  his  mind,  a  widow  with  a 
little  fortune  of  eight  hundred  pounds,  yielded 
him  her  hand,  in  this  season  of  his  poverty ; 
and  he  immediately  opened  a  classical  school 
in  his  native  town.  The  celebrated  Garrick, 
then  about  eighteen  years  old,  became  his  pupil. 
His  scheme,  however,  did  not  succeed ;  his 
newly  acquired  property  was  exhausted;  and 
he  and  Garrick,  then  eight  years  his  junior, 
set  out  together  for  London,  with  the  resolve 
to  seek  their  fortunes  in  the  larger  world. 
Garrick  in  a  short  time  was  acknowledged  as 
the  first  genius  on  the  stage,  and  made  his  way 
to  wealth  almost  without  difficulty.  A  longer 
and  more  toilful  period  of  trial  fell  to  the  lot 
of  the  scholar  and  author.  He  first  offered  to 
the  booksellers  a  manuscript  tragedy,  supposed 
to  be  his  "  Irene,"  but  could  find  no  one  willing 
to  accept  it.     Cave  gave  him  an  engagement  to 


38         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

translate  the  "History  of  the  Council  of  Trent." 
He  received  forty -nine  pounds  for  part  of  the 
translation,  but  it  was  never  completed,  for  lack 
of  sale.  His  pecuniary  condition  was  so  low, 
soon  after  this,  that  he  and  Savage  having 
walked,  conversing,  round  Grosvenor  Square, 
till  four  in  the  morning,  and  beginning  to  feel 
the  want  of  refreshment,  could  not  muster  be- 
tween them  more  than  fourpence-hal:^enny ! 
He  received  ten  guineas  for  his  celebrated 
poem  of  "London;"  but  though  Pope  said, 
**The  author,  whoever  he  was,  could  not  be 
long  concealed,"  no  further  advantage  was  de- 
rived by  Johnson  from  its  publication.  Hear- 
ing of  a  vacancy  in  the  mastership  of  another 
grammar  school  in  Leicestershire,  he,  once 
more,  proceeds  thither  as  a  candidate.  The 
consequences  of  the  poverty  which  had  pre- 
vented him  from  remaining  at  the  university 
till  he  could  take  a  degree  were  now  grievously 
felt.  The  statutes  of  the  place  required  that 
the  person  chosen  should  be  a  Master  of  Arts. 
Some  interest  was  made  to  obtain  him  that 
degree  from  the  Dublin  University;  but,  it 
failed,  and  he  was  again  thrown  back  on  London. 


JOHNSON.  39 

In  spite  of  his  melancholic  constitution,  these 
repeated  disappointments,  so  far  from  filling 
him  with  despair,  seem  only  to  have  quickened 
his  invention,  and  strengthened  his  resolution 
to  continue  the  struggle  for  fame.  He  formed 
numerous  projects  on  his  return  to  the  metro- 
polis ;  but  none  succeeded  except  his  contri- 
butions to  the  "Gentleman's  Magazine;"  these 
were,  chiefly,  the  "  Parliamentary  Debates," 
which  the  world  read  with  the  belief  that  they 
were  thus  becoming  acquainted  with  the  elo- 
quence of  Chatham,  Walpole,  and  their  com- 
peers, and  little  dreaming  that  those  speeches 
were  "  written  in  a  garret  in  Exeter  Street" 
by  a  poverty-stricken  author.  The  talent  dis- 
played in  this  anonymous  labour  did  not  serve, 
as  yet,  to  free  him  from  difficulties.  He  next, 
undertook  to  collect  and  arrange  the  tracts 
forming  the  miscellany,  entitled  "  Harleian." 
Osborne,  the  bookseller,  was  his  employer  in 
this  work;  and,  having  purchased  Lord  Ox- 
ford's library,  the  bookseller  also  employed 
Johnson  to  form  a  catalogue.  To  relieve  his 
drudgery,  Johnson  occasionally  paused  to 
peruse  the  book  that  came  to  hand;  Osborne 


40         THE    TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

complained  of  this ;  a  dispute  arose ;  and  the 
bookseller,  with  great  roughness,  gave  the 
author  the  lie.  The  incident  so  characteristic 
of  Johnson,  and  so  often  related,  now  took 
place — Johnson  seized  a  folio,  and  knocked 
the  bookseller  down.  The  act  was  far  from 
justifiable ;  but  his  indignation  under  the 
offence  must  have  been  great,  as  his  rigid 
adherence  to  speaking  truth  was  so  observable 
that  one  of  his  most  intimate  friends  declared 
"  he  always  talked  as  if  he  were  speaking  on 
oath." 

He  escaped,  at  length,  from  some  degree 
of  the  humiliation  which  attaches  to  poverty. 
He  projected  his  great  work — the  English 
Dictionary;  several  of  the  wealthiest  book- 
sellers entered  into  the  scheme,  and  Johnson 
now  left  lodging  in  the  courts  and  alleys 
about  the  Strand,  and  took  a  house  in  Gough- 
square.  Fleet-street.  This  did  not  occur  till 
he  was  eight-and-thirty;  so  great  a  portion  of 
life  had  he  passed  in  almost  perpetual  contest 
with  pecuniary  difficulties ;  nor  was  he  entirely 
freed  from  them  for  some  years  to  come. 
During  the  years  spent  in  the  exhausting  la* 


JOHNSON.  41 

bour  of  his  Dictionary,  the  fifteen  hundred 
guineas  he  received  for  the  copyright  were 
consumed  on  amanuenses,  and  the  provision 
necessary  for  himself  and  his  wife.  The 
**  Rambler "  was  written  during  these  years 
in  which  his  Dictionary  was  in  course  of  pub- 
lication, and  the  circumstances  of  its  compo- 
sition are  most  noteworthy  among  the  "  Tri- 
umphs of  Perseverance."  With  the  exception 
of  five  numbers,  every  essay  was  written  by 
Johnson  himself;  and  it  was  regularly  issued 
every  Tuesday  and  Friday,  for  two  years. 
The  perseverance  which  enabled  him  so  punc- 
tually to  execute  a  stated  task,  even  while 
continuously  labouring  in  the  greater  work 
in  which  he  was  engaged  is  remarkable ;  but 
the  young  reader's  thought  ought  to  be  more 
deeply  fixed  on  the  consideration  that  a  life  of 
unremittiQg  devotion  to  study — unconquered 
by  difficulty,  and  straitness  of  circumstances — 
had  rendered  him  able  easily  to  pour  forth  the 
treasures  of  a  fidl  mind.  Although  apparently 
the  product  of  great  care,  and  stored  with  the 
richest  moral  reflections,  these  essays  were 
usually  written  in  haste,  frequently  while  the 

B  2 


42         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

printer's  boy  was  waiting,  and  not  even  read 
over  before  given  to  him.  This  was  not  reck- 
lessness in  Johnson,  though  it  would  have 
been  folly  in  one  whose  mind  was  not  most 
opulently  stored  with  matured  thought,  and 
who  had  not  attained  such  a  habit  of  modu- 
lating sentences,  as  to  render  it  almost  mecha- 
nical. Such  attainments  can  only  be  reached 
by  the  most  determined  disciple  of  perseve- 
rance. "A  man  may  write  at  any  time,  if  he 
will  set  himself  doggedly  to  it;"  was  Johnson's 
own  saying,  but  he  could  not  have  verified  it, 
unless  his  mind,  by  assiduous  application,  had 
been  filled  with  the  materials  of  writing.  He 
was,  likewise,  held  in  high  celebrity  as  the 
best  converser  of  his  age;  but  he  acknow- 
ledged that  he  had  attained  his  extraordinary 
accuracy  and  flow  of  language,  by  having 
early  laid  it  down  as  a  fixed  rule  to  arrange 
his  thoughts  before  expressing  them,  and  never 
to  suffer  a  careless  or  unmeaning  expression  to 
escape  from  him. 

The  profits  of  a  second  periodical,  "  The 
Idler,"  and  the  subscriptions  for  his  edition  of 
Shakspeare,  were  the  means  by  which  he  sup- 


JOHNSON.  4S 

ported  himself  for  the  four  or  five  years  imme- 
diately preceding  the  age  of  fifty.  His  wife 
had  already  died,  and  his  aged  mother  being 
near  her  dissolution,  in  order  to  reach  Lich- 
field, and  pay  her  the  last  offices  of  filial  piety, 
he  devoted  one  fortnight  to  the  composition  of 
his  beautiful  and  immortal  tale  of  "  Rasselas," 
for  which  he  received  one  hundred  pounds. 
He  did  not  arrive  in  time  to  close  her  eyes, 
but  saw  her  decently  interred,  and  then  hastened 
back  to  London,  to  go,  once  more,  into  lodg- 
ings and  retrench  expenses.  The  next  three 
years  of  his  life  appear  to  have  been  passed  in 
even  more  than  his  early  poverty ;  but  the  end 
of  his  difficulties  was  approaching. 

The  last  twenty -two  years  of  his  existence — 
from  the  age  of  fifty-three  to  seventy-five — 
were  spent  in  the  receipt  of  a  royal  pension  of 
three  hundred  pounds  per  annum ;  in  the  so- 
ciety of  persons  of  fortune,  who  considered 
themselves  honoured  by  the  company  of  the 
once  poverty-stricken  and  unknown  scolar ;  in 
the  companionship  of  Edmund  Burke,  and 
Oliver  Goldsmith,  and  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds, 
and  Joseph  Warton,  and  others  whose  names 


44         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

are  durably  written  on  the  roll  of  genius,  and 
in  the  receipt  of  the  highest  honours  of  learn- 
ing— for  the  Universities,  both  of  Dublin  and 
Oxford,  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Laws,  and  the  Oxford  University 
had  previously  sent  him  the  degree  of  Master 
of  Arts.  Regarded  as  the  great  umpire  of 
Kterary  taste,  receiving  deference  and  respect 
wherever  he  went,  and  no  longer  driven  to  his 
pen  by  necessity,  this  honoured  exemplar  of 
perseverance  did  not  pass  through  his  remain- 
ing course  in  unproductive  indolence.  In 
addition  to  less  important  works,  his  ''Lives 
of  the  Poets"  was  produced  in  this  closing 
period  of  his  life,  and  is  well  known  as  the 
most  valuable  and  useful  of  his  labours,  with 
the  exception  of  his  great  dictionary. 


Wxllxm  iitei 

in  the  early  circumstances  of  his  life,  is  a  still 
more  striking  exemplar  of  the  virtue  of  perse- 
verance. He  was  left  an  orphan  at  thirteen 
years  of  age,  was  sent  to  sea  for  a  twelvemonth. 


GIFFORD. 


45 


and  was  then  taken  home  by  his  godfather, 
who  had  seized  upon  whatever  his  mother  had 
left,  as  a  means  of  repaying  himself  for  money 
lent  to  her,  and  was  now  constrained  to  pay 
some  attention  to  the  boy,  by  the  keen  remon- 
strances of  his  neighbours.  He  was  sent  to 
school,  and  made  such  rapid  progress  in  arith- 
metic that,  in  a  few  months,  he  was  at  the  head 
of  the  school,  and  frequently  assisted  his  master. 


The  receipt  of  a  trifle  for  these  services  raised 
in  him  the  thought  of  one  day  becoming  a 
schoolmaster,  in  the  room  of  a  teacher  in  the 


46         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

town  of  Ashburton,  who  was  growing  old  and 
infirm.  He  mentioned  his  scheme  to  his  god- 
father, who  treated  it  with  contempt,  and  forth- 
with apprenticed  him  to  a  shoemaker.  His 
new  master  subjected  him  to  the  greatest  de- 
gradation, made  him  the  common  drudge  of 
his  household,  and  took  from  him  the  means  of 
pursuing  his  favourite  study  of  arithmetic. 

"  I  could  not  guess  the  motives  for  this  at 
first,"  he  says, — for  his  narrative  is  too  remark- 
able at  this  period  of  his  struggles,  to  be  told 
in  any  other  than  his  own  language, — "  but  at 
length  discovered  that  my  master  destined  his 
youngest  son  for  the  situation  to  which  I  as- 
pired. I  possessed,  at  this  time,  but  one  book 
in  the  world,  it  was  a  treatise  on  algebra,  given 
to  me  by  a  young  woman,  who  had  found  it  in 
a  lodging-house.  I  considered  it  as  a  treasure, 
but  it  was  a  treasure  locked  up,  for  it  supposed 
the  reader  to  be  well  acquainted  with  simple 
equations,  and  I  knew  nothing  of  the  matter. 
My  master's  son  had  purchased  *  Fenning's 
Introduction ; '  this  was  precisely  what  I  wan- 
ted; but  he  carefully  concealed  it  from  me, 
and  I  was  indebted  to  chance  alone  for  stum- 


GIFFORD.  47 

bling  upon  his  hiding-place.  I  sat  up  for  the 
greatest  part  of  several  nights,  successively ; 
and,  before  he  suspected  that  his  treatise  was 
discovered,  had  completely  mastered  it.  I 
could  now  enter  upon  my  own,  and  that  car- 
ried me  pretty  far  into  the  science.  This  was 
not  done  without  difficulty.  I  had  not  a  far- 
thing on  earth,  nor  a  friend  to  give  me  one ; 
pen,  ink  and  paper,  therefore,  were,  for  the  most 
part,  as  completely  out  of  my  reach  as  a  crown 
and  sceptre.  There  was,  indeed,  a  resource, 
but  the  utmost  caution  and  secrecy  were  ne- 
cessary in  applying  to  it.  I  beat  out  pieces  of 
leather  as  smooth  as  possible,  and  wrought 
my  problems  on  them  with  a  blunted  awl ;  for 
the  rest,  my  memory  was  tenacious,  and  I  could 
multiply  and  divide  by  it  to  a  great  extent." 

He  essayed  the  composition  of  rhyme,  and 
the  rehearsal  of  his  verses  secured  him  a  few 
pence  from  his  acquaintances.  He  now  fur- 
nished himself  with  pens,  ink,  and  paper,  and 
even  bought  some  books  of  geometry  and  of 
the  higher  branches  of  algebra;  but  was  obliged 
to  conceal  them,  and  to  pursue  his  studies  by 
continued  caution.     Some  of  his  verses,  how- 


48         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

ever,  were  shown  to  his  master,  and  were  under- 
stood to  contain  satirical  reflections  upon  his 
oppressor.  His  books  and  papers  were  seized 
upon,  by  way  of  punishment;  and  he  was  re- 
duced to  the  deepest  despair.  "  I  look  back," 
he  says,  in  his  own  admirable  narrative,  "  on 
that  part  of  my  life  which  immediately  followed 
this  event  with  little  satisfaction :  it  was  a 
period  of  gloom,  and  savage  unsociability:  by 
degrees  I  sunk  into  a  kind  of  corporeal  torpor; 
or,  if  roused  into  activity  by  the  spirit  of  youth, 
wasted  the  exertion  in  splenetic  and  vexatious 
tricks,  which  alienated  the  few  acquaintances 
compassion  had  left  me." 

The  heart  revolts  at  the  brutal  injustice 
which  drove  GiiFord's  young  nature  thus  to 
harden  itself  into  gloomy  endurance  of  his 
lot,  by  '  savage  unsociability;'  but  a  mind  like 
his  could  not  take  that  stamp  for  Kfe.  His  dis- 
position grew  again  buoyant,  and  his  aspira- 
tions began  to  rekindle,  as  the  term  of  his 
bondage  grew  shorter.  Had  he  found  no  de- 
liverance till  it  had  legally  expired,  it  may  be 
safely  afiirmed,  that  he  would  then  have  forced 
his  way  into  eminence  by  self-assisted  eflfbrts ; 


OIFFORD.  49 

but  an  accidental  circumstance  emancipated  him 
a  year  before  the  legal  expiry  of  his  apprentice- 
ship. Mr.  Cookesley,  a  philanthropic  surgeon, 
having  learnt  from  GiiFord  himself,  the  facts 
of  his  hard  history,  through  mere  curiosity 
awakened  by  hearing  some  of  his  rhymes  re- 
peated, started  '  A  subscription  for  purchasing 
the  remainder  of  the  time  of  "William  Gifford, 
and  for  enabling  him  to  improve  himself  in 
writing  and  English  grammar.*  Enough  was 
collected  to  satisfy  his  master's  demand,  he  was 
placed  at  school  with  a  clergyman,  made  his 
way  into  the  classics,  displayed  such  diligence 
that  more  money  was  raised  to  continue  him 
in  his  promising  course ;  and  in  two  years  and 
two  months  from  the  day  of  his  liberation,  he 
was  considered  by  his  instructor  to  be  fit  for 
the  University,  and  was  sent  to  Exeter  College, 
Oxford. 

Perseverance!  what  can  it  not  effect?  It 
enabled  Gifford  to  surmount  difficulties  arising 
from  the  most  vulgar  and  brutifying  influences, 
and  to  make  his  way  triumphantly  into  an 
intellectual  region  of  delectable  enjoyment. 
From  a  boy  neglected  and  degraded — from  a 


50         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

youth  baffled  and  thwarted  in  his  aims  at  a 
higher  state  of  existence  than  that  of  merely 
living  to  labour  in  order  to  eat,  drink,  and  be 
clothed — from  one  fastening  his  desire  upon 
knowledge,  only  to  be  scorned  and  mocked, 
and  treated  as  a  criminal  where  he  was  merit- 
ing applause — from  a  poor  pitiable  struggler 
longing  for  mental  breathing-room,  amid  the 
coarse  conversation  he  would  undoubtedly  hear 
from  his  master,  and  those  who  were  his  asso- 
ciates, and  sinking  for  some  period  into  sullen 
despair  with  his  hardship,  that  like  an  untoward 
sky  seemed  to  promise  no  break  of  relieving 
light, — ^he  becomes  a  glad  and  easier  student ; 
is  enabled  not  merely  *  to  improve  himself  in 
writing  and  English  grammar,'  but,  in  six- 
and-twenty  months,  becomes  a  converser,  in  their 
own  noble  language,  with  the  great  spirits  of 
Rome  and  Greece  :  and  enters  the  most  vener- 
able arena  of  learning  in  Britain,  to  become  a 
rival  in  elegant  scholarship  with  the  young 
heirs  to  coronets  and  titles,  and  to  England's 
widest  wealth  and  influence.  What  a  change 
did  those  ancient  halls  of  architectural  grandeur, 
with  all  their  associations  of  great  intellectual 


GIFFORD.  61 

names,  present  for  the  young  and  ardent  toiler 
who,  but  six-and-twenty  months  before,  had 
bent  over  the  last  from  morning  to  night,  shut 
out  from  all  that  could  cheer  or  elevate  the 
mind,  and  surrounded  with  nought  but  that 
which  tended  to  disgust  and  degrade  it ! 

Nor  did  the  career  of  the  young  disciple  of 
Perseverance,  when  arrived  at  his  new  and 
loftier  stage  of  struggle,  discredit  the  foresight 
of  those  who  had  assisted  him.  His  first  bene- 
factor died  before  Gifford  took  his  degree ;  but 
he  was  enabled  by  the  generosity  of  Lord 
Grosvenor  to  piirsue  his  studies  at  the  Uni- 
versity to  a  successful  issue.  After  some  ab- 
sence on  the  continent  as  travelling  tutor  to 
the  nobleman  just  mentioned,  he  entered  on 
his  course  as  an  author,  and  gained  some  dis- 
tinction ;  but  won  his  chief  celebrity,  as  well 
as  most  substantial  rewards,  while  Editor  of  the 
"  Quarterly  Review" — an  office  he  held  from 
the  commencement  of  that  periodical  1809,  till 
his  death,  on  the  last  day  of  1826,  when  he 
had  reached  the  age  of  seventy-one.  In  the 
performance  of  this  critical  service  he  had  a 
salary  of  one  thousand  a  year ;  and  it  is  a  noble 


5^         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

conclusion  to  the  history  of  this  successful 
scholar  of  Perseverance,  that  true-hearted 
gratitude  led  him  to  bequeath  the  bulk  of  his 
fortune  to  Mr.  Cookesley,  the  son  of  his  early 
benefactor. 

The  superiority  of  genius  to  difficulties,  and 
the  certainty  with  which  it  achieves  high  tri- 
umphs through  longer  or  shorter  paths  of 
vicissitude,  might  be  shown  from  the  memoirs 
of  Erasmus,  and  Mendelsohn,  and  Goldsmith, 
and  Holer  oft,  and  Kirke  White,  and  others, 
almost  a  countless  host.  Early  poverty  may  be 
said,  however,  to  stimulate  the  children  of 
Genius  to  exertion ;  and  its  influence  may  be 
judged  to  weaken  the  merit  of  their  perse- 
verance, since  their  triumphs  may  be  dated 
from  deep  desire  to  escape  from  its  disad- 
vantages. That  such  a  feeling  has  been  par- 
ticipated by  many,  or  all,  of  the  illustrious 
climbers  after  literary  distinction,  it  may  not 
be  denied ;  though  the  world  usually  attributes 
more  to  its  workings  in  the  minds  of  men  of 
genius  than  the  interior  truth,  if  known,  would 
warrant:  the  strong  necessity  to  create — the 
restless   power   to   embody  their    thinkings — 


GIFFORD.  5S 

these  deep-seated  springs  of  exertion  in  intel- 
lectual men,  if  understood,  would  afford  a  truer 
solution  of  their  motives  for  beginning,  and  the 
determination  to  excel  for  continuing  their 
course,  than  any  mere  sordid  impulses  with 
which  they  are  often  charged.  Let  us  turn  to 
a  celebrated  name,  around  which  no  irksome 
influences  of  poverty  gathered,  either  at  the 
outset  of  his  life,  or  in  his  progress  to  literary 
distinction.  His  systematic  direction  of  the 
knowledge  acquired  by  inquiries  as  profound 
as  they  were  diversified,  and  his  application  of 
the  experience  of  life,  alike  to  the  same  great 
end,  afford  an  admirable  spectacle  of  the  noblest 
perseverance,  and  of  memorable  victory  over 
the  seductions  of  ease  and  competence. 


The  author  of  the  unrivalled  "  Decline  and 
Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  was  bom  to  con- 
siderable fortune.  He  left  the  University  at 
eighteen,  aft«r  great  loss  of  time,  as  he  tell  us 
in  his  instructive  autobiography,  and  with  what 

F  2 


54         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

was  worse,  habits  of  expense  and  dissipation. 
His  father  being  under  distressing  anxiety  on 
account  of  his  son's  irregularities,  and,  after- 
wards, from  what  he  deemed  of  greater  mo- 
ment, young  Gibbon's  sudden  avowal  of  con- 
version to  the  doctrines  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church,  placed  him  abroad,  under  the  strict 
care  of  a  Protestant  minister.     Gibbon  began 


to  awake  to  reflection;  and,  without  prescrip- 
tion from  his  new  guardian,  voluntarily  entered 
on  severe  study.  He  diligently  translated  the 
best  Roman  writers,  turned  them  into  French, 
and  then  again  into  Latin,  comparing  Cicero 
and  Livy,   and  Seneca  and  Horace,  with  the 


GIBBON.  55 

best  orators  and  historians,  philosophers  and 
poets,  of  the  modems.  He  next  advanced  to 
the  Greek,  and  pursued  a  similar  course  with 
the  treasures  of  that  noble  literature.  He  after- 
wards commenced  an  inquiry  into  the  Law  of 
Nations,  and  sedulously  perused  the  treatises 
of  Grotius,  Puffendorf,  Locke,  Bayle,  and  Mon- 
tesquieu, the  acknowledged  authorities  on  that 
great  subject.  He  mentions  three  books  which 
absorbed  more  than  the  usual  interest  he  felt  in 
whatever  he  read :  "  Pascal's  Provincial  Let- 
ters," the  "  Abbe  de  la  Bl^terie's  Life  of  the 
Emperor  Julian,"  and  "  Giannone's  Civil  His- 
tory of  Naples:"  the  character  of  these  works 
shadows  forth  the  grand  design  which  was 
gradually  forming  in  his  mind. 

Yet  without  method,  without  taking  care  to 
store  up  this  various  knowledge  in  such  a  mode, 
that  it  might  not  be  mere  lumber  in  the  me- 
mory, he  speedily  discerned  that  even  years 
spent  in  industrious  reading  would  be,  com- 
paratively, of  little  worth.  He,  therefore,  began 
to  digest  his  various  reading  in  a  common-place 
book,  according  to  the  method  recommended 
by  Locke.     The  eager  and  enthusiastic  student 


66  THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

— for  suck  he  had  now  become — by  this  sys- 
tematic arrangement  of  his  knowledge  under 
heads,  perceived  his  wants  more  distinctly,  and 
entered  into  correspondence  for  the  solution 
of  historic  difficulties,  with  some  of  the  most 
illustrious  scholars  of  his  time,  among  whom  were 
Professors  Crevier  of  Paris,Breittinger  of  Zurich, 
and  Matth.  Gesner  of  Gbttingen.  From  each 
of  these  learned  men  he  received  such  flatter- 
ing notice  of  the  acuteness  of  his  inquiries,  as 
proved  how  well  he  had  employed  the  time 
and  means  at  his  command.  His  first  work, 
written  in  French,  the  "  Essay  on  the  Study 
of  Literature,"  was  produced  at  three-and- 
twenty,  after  his  laborious  reading  of  the 
best  English  and  French,  as  well  as  Latin  and 
Greek  authors. 

A  transition  was  now  made  by  him,  from 
retired  leisure,  to  active  life.  His  father  was 
made  major  of  the  Hampshire  Militia,  himself 
captain  of  grenadiers,  and  the  regiment  was 
called  out  on  duty.  He  had  to  devote  two 
years  and  a  half  to  this  employ,  and  expresses 
considerable  discontent  with  his  "  wandering 
life  of  military   servitude;"    but  thus  judici- 


GIBBON.  57 

ously  tempers  his  observations:  "  In  every 
state  there  exists,  however,  a  balance  of  good 
and  evil.  The  habits  of  a  sedentary  life  were 
usefully  broken  by  the  duties  of  an  active  pro- 
fession." ; . . .  "After  my  foreign  education,  with 
my  reserved  temper,  I  should  long  have  con- 
tinued a  stranger  to  my  native  country,  had  I 
not  been  shaken  in  this  various  scene  of  new 
faces  and  new  friends  ;  had  not  experience 
forced  me  to  feel  the  characters  of  our  leading 
men,  the  state  of  parties,  the  forms  of  office, 
and  the  operation  of  our  civil  and  military 
system.  In  this  peaceful  service  I  imbibed  the 
rudiments  and  the  language  and  science  of 
tactics,  which  opened  a  new  field  of  study  and 

observation The  discipline  and  evolutions 

of  a  modem  battalion,  gave  me  a  clearer  notion 
of  the  phalanx  and  the  legion ;  and  the  cap- 
tain of  the  Hampshire  grenadiers  has  not  been 
useless  to  the  historian  of  the  Roman  empire.'* 
Let  the  young  reader  observe  how,  even 
when  a  purpose  is  not,  as  yet,  distinctly 
formed,  the  leading  events  of  life,  as  well  as 
study,  may  be  made  by  the  regal  mind  to  bend 
and  contribute  to  the  realising  of  one.     Our 


58         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

great  paramount  duty  is  to  husband  time  well, 
to  let  not  an  hour  glide  uselessly,  to  go  on  ex- 
tending our  range  of  knowledge,  and  resolv- 
ing to  act  our  part  well,  even  while  we  are  in 
uncertainty  as  to  what  our  part  may  be.  The 
seed  well  sown,  the  germs  well  watered,  and  a 
useful  harvest  must  result,  though  neither  we, 
nor  any  who  look  on,  for  a  while,  may  be  able 
to  prophesy  of  the  quality  or  abundance  of  the 
grain,  seeing  it  is  but  yet  in  its  growth.  '*  From 
my  early  youth  I  aspired  to  the  character  of  an 
historian,"  says  Gibbon ;  "  while  I  served  in 
the  militia,  before  and  after  the  publication  of 
my  *  Essay,'  this  idea  ripened  in  my  mind." 

Yet,  he  was,  for  a  time,  undecided  as  to  a 
subject:  the  Expedition  of  Charles  the  Eighth 
of  France  into  Italy ;  the  Crusade  of  Coeur  de 
Lion;  the  Barons'  "Wars  against  John  and 
Henry  the  Third;  the  History  of  Edward  the 
Black  Prince;  Lives  and  comparisons  of  Henry 
the  Fifth,  and  the  Emperor  Titus;  the  Life  of 
Sir  Philip  Sidney,  of  the  Marquis  of  Montrose, 
of  Kaleigh, — and  other  subjects  of  high  inte- 
rest, but  each  and  all  inferior  to  the  one  he  at 
length  undertook,  and  for  which  his  studies  had. 


GIBBON.  59 

all  along j  peculiarly  fitted  him,  successively 
attracted  his  attention.  Amidst  the  colossal 
ruins  of  the  amphitheatre  of  Titus,  the  idea,  at 
length,  was  formed  in  his  mind,  of  tracing  the 
vicissitudes  of  Rome ;  and  this  idea  swelled  un- 
til his  conception  extended  to  such  a  history  as 
should  depicture  the  thousand  years  of  change, 
which  fill  up  the  period  between  the  reign  of 
the  Antonines  and  the  conquest  of  Constanti- 
nople by  the  Turks.  Years  of  laborious  study 
and  research  were  necessary  to  accomplish  this 
gigantic  labour;  but  it  was  perfected,  and  re- 
mains the  grandest  historic  monument  ever 
raised  by  an  Englishman.  The  recent  inves- 
tigations of  Guizot  have  more  fully  confirmed 
the  fact,  of  the  minute  and  careful  inquiries  of 
Gibbon,  in  bringing  together  the  vast  and 
multifarious  materials  necessary  for  the  accu- 
rate completion  of  his  design.  His  great  work 
is,  emphatically,  for  strictness  of  statement,  com- 
bined with  such  comprehensiveness  of  subjects, 
for  depth  and  clearness  of  disquisition,  and  for 
splendour  of  style,  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
"  Triumphs  of  Perseverance.'* 

And  is  the  roll  of  these  triumphs  complete  ? 


60        THE  TRIUMPHS   OF  PERSEVERANCE. 

Have  the  labours  of  the  past  pretermitted  the 
possibility  of  equal  victories  in  the  future? 
Never,  while  the  human  mind  exists,  can  the 
catalogue  of  its  successes  be  deemed  to  have 
found  a  limit  or  an  end.  Immense  fields  of 
history  remain  yet  untrodden  and  uncultivated; 
innumerable  facts  throughout  the  ages  which 
are  gone,  remain  to  be  collected  by  industry 
and  arranged  by  judgment;  the  ever- varying 
phases  of  human  affairs  offer  perpetual  material 
for  new  chronicle :  let  none  who  meditates  to 
devote  his  youth  to  historical  inquiry,  with  the 
meritorious  resolve  to  distinguish  his  manhood 
by  some  useful  monument  of  solid  thought, 
imagine  that  his  ground  has  been  narrowed, 
but  rather  understand  that  it  has  been  cleared 
and  enlarged  by  the  noble  workmen  who  have 
gone  before. 

Neither  let  the  young  and  gifled,  in  whom 
the  kindlings  of  creative  genius  are  felt,  listen 
to  the  dull  voices  who  say,  "  the  last  epic  has 
been  written — no  more  great  dramas  shall  be 
produced — the  lyrics  of  the  past  will  never  be 
equalled  !  *'  If  such  vaticinations  were  true,  it 
would  show  that  the  human  mind  was  dwarfed 


GIBBON.  61 

Shakspere  did  not  believe  that,  or  he  would 
not  have  excelled  Sophocles.  None  but  in- 
tellectual cravens  will  affright  themselves  with 
the  belief  that  they  cannot  equal  the  doings  of 
those  who  have  gone  before.  True  courage 
says,  "  The  laurel  is  never  sere :  its  leaves  are 
evergreen.  The  laurels  have  not  aU  been  won : 
they  flourish  still,  in  abundance.  The  bright 
examples  of  the  past  shall  not  deter,  but  cheer 
me.  I  will  go  on  to  equal  them.  My  life,  like 
the  lives  of  the  earth's  truly  great,  shall  be 
devoted  to  thought,  to  research ;  to  deep  con- 
verse with  the  mighty  spirits  who  still  live  in 
their  works,  though  their  clay  is  dissolved;  I 
will  prepare  to  build,  and  build  carefully  and 
wisely,  as  they  built;  I  also  wiU  rear  my  lasting 
memorial  among  "  The  Triumphs  of  Perseve- 
rance!" 


€\^ttt  t\t  %\\A—^xMl 


CANOVA.— CHANTREY.— SALVATOR  ROSA.— 
BENJAMIN  WEST, 

If  a  rude  image  of  the  South  Sea  islanders  be 
compared  with  one  of  Chantrey's  sculptures,  or 
a  Chinese  picture  with  some  perfect  perform- 
ance of  RafFaelle,  or  Claude,  what  a  world  of 
reflection  unfolds  itself  on  the  countless  steps 
taken  by  the  mind,  from  its  first  attempt  at 
imitating  the  human  form,  or  depicturing  a 
landscape,  to  the  periods  of  its  most  successful 
effort  in  statuary  or  painting.  The  first  childish 
essay  of  a  great  artist,  compared  with  one  of 
the  masterpieces  of  his  maturity,  calls  up  kin- 
dred thoughts.     How  often  must  the  eye  re- 


ARTISTS.  6S 

measure  an  object;  how  often  retrace  the  direc- 
tion or  inclination  of  the  lines  by  which  a 
figure  is  bounded;  what  an  infinite  number  of 
comparisons  must  perception  store  up  in  the 
memory,  as  to  the  resemblance  of  one  form  to 
another;  what  repeated  scrutiny  must  the  judg- 
ment exercise  over  what  most  delights  the 
ideal  faculty,  tiQ  the  source  of  delight — the 
harmony  arising  from  combination  of  forms- — 
be  discovered  and  understood;  and  how  un- 
weariedly  must  the  intellect  return,  again  and 
again,  to  these  its  probationary  labours,  before 
the  capability  for  realising  great  triumphs  in 
Art  be  attained. 

Doubtless,  the  mind  of  a  young  artist,  like 
the  mind  under  any  other  process  of  training, 
exercises  many  of  these  acts  with  little  self-con- 
sciousness ;  but  observation  and  comparison 
have,  inevitably,  to  be  practised,  and  their 
results  to  be  stored  up  in  the  mind,  before  the 
hand  can  be  directed  and  employed  in  accu- 
rate delineation  and  embodiment  of  forms. 
Without  diligence  in  this  training,  the  chisel 
of  Chantrey  would  have  failed  to  bring  more 
life-Hkc  'shapes  from   a  block  of  marble  than 


64         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

the  knife  of  a  Sandwich  islander  carves  out  of 
the  trunk  of  a  tree ;  and  the  canvas  of  Claude 
would  have  failed  as  utterly  to  realise  propor- 
tion, and  sunlight,  and  distance,  as  a  piece  of 
porcelain  figured  and  coloured  by  a  native  of 
China.  As  it  is  in  the  elaboration  of  Litera- 
ture's most  perfect  products,  so  it  is  in  Art: 
into  the  mind  his  images  must  be  taken;  there 
they  must  be  wrought  up  into  new  combina- 
tions and  shapes  of  beauty  or  of  power;  and 
firom  this  grand  repository  the  statuary  or 
painter,  like  the  poet,  must  summon  his 
forms  anew,  evermore  returning,  dutifully,  to 
compare  them  with  Nature  and  actual  life,  and 
sparing  no  effort  to  clothe  them  with  the  attri- 
bute of  veri-similitude. 

Need  it  be  argued,  then,  that  without  perse- 
verance the  world  would  have  beheld  none  of 
the  wonders  of  high  Art  ?  If  the  mind,  by  her 
own  mysterious  power,  have,  first,  to  pencil  the 
forms  of  the  outward  upon  her  tablets  within; 
if  she  have,  then,  a  greater  work  of  combina- 
tion and  creation  to  perform,  ere  a  statue  or  a 
picture  of  the  ideal  can  be  realised;  if  the  hand, 
in  a  word,  can  only  successfully  carve,  limn. 


CANOVA.  65 

and  colour,  from  the  pattern  laid  up  in  the 
wealth  of  the  trained  and  experienced  mind, 
how  absolute  the  necessity  for  perseverance  to 
enrich  and  perfect  that  mind  which  is  to  direct 
the  hand!  That  neglect  of  this  evident  truth 
has  marked  the  lives  of  unsuccessful  artists, 
may,  too  often,  be  seen  in  the  records  of  them : 
while  the  deepest  conviction  of  a  duty  to  obey 
its  dictates  has  distinguished  the  world's  most 
glorious  names  in  painting  and  sculpture.  Let 
us  glance  at  the  steps  taken  by  a  few  of  these, 
in  their  way  to  triumphs; — not  unheedful, 
meanwhile,  how  their  exhibition  of  the  great 
moral  quality  of  perseverance  enabled  them  to 
trample  on  the  diflSculties  of  actual  life,  as  well 
as  to  overcome  obstacles  in  their  progress  to 
perfect  art. 


The  greatest  of  modern  sculptors,  was  bom 
in  a  mud-walled  cabin  of  an  Alpine  valley 
within  the  Venetian  territories;  and  remained 
in  the  care   of  Pasino,   his   grand-father,  who 


66 


THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 


was  a  stone-cutter,  till  his  twelfth,  year.  Pas- 
sino,  evermore  employing  enticement  and  ten- 
derness, rather  than  compulsion,  began  to 
instruct  the  child  in  drawing,  as   soon  as  his 


little  hand  could  hold  a  pencil;  and  even  taught 
him  to  model  in  clay,  at  an  early  age.  At 
nine  years  old,  however,  he  was  set  to  work 
at  stone-cutting;  and,  thenceforward,  his  essays 


CANOVA.  67 

in  art  were  but  pursued  as  relaxations.  Yet  his 
boyish  performances  were  sufficiently  remark- 
able to  attract  notice  from  the  chief  of  the 
patrician  family  of  Falieri,  for  whom  Pasino 
worked.  This  nobleman  took  young  Canova 
under  his  patronage,  and  placed  him  with 
Toretto,  a  sculptor.  His  new  preceptor  was 
not  very  liberal  in  his  intructions;  but  the 
young  genius  secretly  pursued  his  high  bent, 
and  one  day  surprised  Toretto  by  producing 
the  figures  of  two  angels  of  singular  beauty. 
His  yearnings  after  excellence,  at  this  period, 
grew  vast,  but  were  indefinite.  He  often  be- 
came disgusted  with  what  he  had  done,  and  to 
fitful  dreams  of  beauty  in  art,  succeeded  moods 
of  despair;  but  he  invariably  returned  to  his 
models,  imperfect  as  he  perceived  them  to  be, 
and  resolved  to  labour  on  from  the  point  of 
his  present  knowledge  up  to  the  mastery  he 
coveted. 

On  the  death  of  Toretto,  in  Canova's  fifteenth 
year,  Falieri  removed  the  aspiring  boy  to 
Venice.  He  was  lodged  in  his  patron's  palace; 
but  was  too  truly  a  man,  in  spite  of  his  youth, 
to  brook  entire  dependence   on  another,  and 


68         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

formed  an  engagement  to  work  during  the 
afternoons  for  a  sculptor  in  the  city.  "  I  la- 
boured for  a  mere  pittance,  but  it  was  suffi- 
cient/' is  the  language  of  one  of  his  letters. 
"  It  was  the  fruit  of  my  own  resolution;  and, 
as  I  then  flattered  myself,  the  foretaste  of  more 
honourable  rewards, — for  I  never  thought  of 
wealth."  Under  successive  masters,  Canova 
acquired  a  knowledge  of  what  were  then  held 
to  be  the  established  rules  of  sculpture,  but 
made  no  important  essay,  except  his  Eurydice, 
which  was  of  the  size  of  nature,  and  had  *'  great 
merit,"  in  the  estimation  of  his  patron,  although 
Canova  himself  thought  not  so  highly  of  it. 
Indeed,  his  genius  was  preparing  to  break 
away  from  the  mannerism  of  his  instructors 
almost  as  soon  as  it  was  learnt.  The  works  of 
Bernini,  Algardi,  and  other  comparatively  in- 
ferior artists,  were  then  taken  for  models  rather 
than  the  ApoUo,  the  Laocoon,  the  Venus,  or  the 
Gladiator — the  transcendent  remains  of  ancient 
statuary.  "  The  unaffected  majesty  of  the  an- 
tique," observes  Mr.  Memes,  Canova's  Eng- 
lish biographer,  was  then  "  regarded  as  desti- 
tute  of  force  and   impression."     And   as   for 


CANOVA. 


Nature,  "  her  simplicity  was  then  considered 
as  poverty,  devoid  of  elegance  or  grace." 
Nature,  therefore,  was  not  imitated  by  this 
school  of  sculptors;  but,  in  the  critical  lan- 
guage of  one  of  their  own  countrymen,  she 
was  but  "  translated  according  to  conventional 
modes."  Canova  spurned  subjection  to  the 
trammels  of  corrupt  taste;  and,  after  deep 
thought,  his  resolve  was  taken,  and  he  entered 
on  a  new  and  arduous  path.  He,  thenceforth 
"  took  Nature  as  the  text,  and  formed  the 
commentary  from  his  own  elevated  taste,  fancy, 
and  judgment." 

The  exhibition  of  his  Orpheus,  the  com- 
panion-statue to  his  Eurydice,  in  his  twentieth 
year,  gave  commencement  to  Canova's  success 
and  reputation,  and  proved  the  devotion  with 
which  he  had  applied  himself  to  the  study  of 
the  anatomy  of  life,  to  whatever  he  observed  to 
be  striking  in  the  attitudes  of  living  men,  in 
the  expression  of  their  countenances,  in  "  the 
sculpture  of  the  heart."  (//  scolpir  del  cuore), 
as  he  so  beautifully  termed  it.  His  style  was 
foreign  to  prevailing  false  taste;  but  it  was  so 
true  to  Nature  that  its  excellence  won  him  gene- 
ral admiration. 


70         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

Rome,  the  great  capital  of  Art,  naturally  be- 
came the  theatre  of  his  ambition,  at  this  period; 
and  soon  after  his  twenty-third  birthday,  he 
enters  on  his  career  in  the  Eternal  City,  under 
the  patronage  of  the  Venetian  ambassador, 
obtained  through  Falieri's  friendship.  With 
rapture  he  beheld  a  mass  of  marble,  which  had 
cost  what  would  equal  sixty-three  pounds  ster- 
ling, arrive  at  the  ambassador's  palace,  as  an 
assurance  that  he  would  have  the  material  for 
accomplishing  a  great  work  he  had  devised. 
Yet,  with  an  overawed  sense  of  the  perfection 
he  now  saw  in  the  remains  of  ancient  sculpture, 
and  believing  himself  deficient  in  the  concep- 
tion of  ideal  beauty,  he  studied  deeply,  and 
worked  in  secret,  shutting  himself  up  in  a 
room  of  the  ambassador's  palace,  after  each 
daily  visit  to  the  grand  galleries.  His  Theseus 
and  Minotaur  was,  at  length,  shown;  and  he 
was  considered  to  have  placed  himseK  at  the 
head  of  living  sculptors. 

Ten  successive  years  of  his  life,  after  this 
triumph,  were  devoted  to  funeral  monuments 
of  the  Popes  Clement  the  Fourteenth  (Ganga- 
nelli),  and  Clement  the  Twelfth  (Rezzonico). 


CANOVA.  71 

**  They  were,"  says  his  biographer,  "  years  of 
unceasing  toil  and  solicitude,  both  as  the  affairs 
of  the  artist  did  not  permit  of  having  recourse 
to  the  assistance  of  inferior  workmen,  and  as  he 
meditated  technical  improvements  and  modes  of 
execution  unknown  to  contemporaries.  Much 
valuable  time  was  thus  lost  to  all  the  nobler 
purposes  of  study,  while  the  conducting  from 
their  rude  and  shapeless  state  to  their  final  and 
exquisite  forms  such  colossal  masses,  was  no 
less  exhausting  to  the  mind  than  to  the  body. 
The  method,  however,  which  was  now  first 
adopted,  and  subsequently  perfected,  not  only 
allowed,  in  future,  exclusive  attention  to  the 
higher  provinces  of  art,  but  enabled  this  master 
to  produce  a  greater  number  of  original  worka 
than  any  other  of  modern  times  can  boast." 
These  observations  show  Canova  to  have  been 
one  of  the  noblest  disciples  of  perseverance ; 
slighting  the  readier  triumphs  he  might  have 
won,  by  exerting  his  skill  with  the  customary 
appliances,  he  aimed  to  invent  methods  whereby 
gigantic  works  in  art  might  be  more  readily 
achieved,  both  by  himself  and  his  successors : 
he  prescribed  for  himself  the  work  of  a  dis- 


72         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

coverer,  and  he  magnanimously  toiled  till  he 
succeeded. 

Canova's  most  perfect  works  were,  of  course, 
accomplished  in  his  full  manhood.  These  were 
his  Cupid  and  Psyche,  Venus,  Perseus,  Napo- 
leon, Boxers,  and  Hercules  and  Lichas :  crea- 
tions which  have  made  so  truthfully  applicable 
to  his  glorious  genius,  the  immortal  line  of 
Bjrron: — 

"  Europe,  the  world,  has  but  one  Canova." 

Titles  of  honour  were  showered  on  him,  during 
his  latter  years ;  among  the  rest  that  of  "  Mar- 
quis of  Ischia ; "  but  he  esteemed  all  of  them 
as  inferior  to  the  triumph  of  his  advocacy  for 
the  restoration  of  the  precious  works  of  ancient 
art  to  Italy.  He  was  commissioned  by  the 
Pope  for  this  undertaking,  and  his  great  name 
will  be  imperishably  united  with  the  memory 
of  its  success. 

To  all  who  are  commenciag  the  struggle  of 
life,  the  moral  course  of  Canova  demands  equally 
close  imitation,  with  his  persevering  zeal  in  the 
attainment  of  artistic  excellence.  He  ever  re- 
fused pecuniary  dependence;  subjected  himself 


CANOVA.  78' 

to  great  disadvantages  in  carrying  out  his  de- 
signs, rather  than  submit  to  such  dependence; 
and  when  a  pension  of  three  thousand  crowns 
was  conferred  upon  him,  towards  the  close  of 
his  career,  he  refused  to  apply  any  portion  of  it 
to  his  own  gratification  of  a  personal  kind,  and 
systematically  devoted  it,  yearly,  to  premiums 
for  young  competitors  in  art,  instruction  of 
scholars  in  painting  and  sculpture,  and  pensions 
for  poor  and  decayed  artists.  Young  reader, 
let  the  words  of  Canova,  on  his  death-bed,  sink 
deeply  into  your  mind,  that  they  may  actuate 
your  whole  life  as  fully  and  nobly  as  they 
actuated  his  own : — "  First  of  all  we  ought  to 
do  our  own  duty ;  hut— ^rst  of  all!  " 

the  most  eminent  of  our  sculptors,  was  another 
noble  example  of  successful  perseverance.  From 
a  boy,  accustomed  to  drive  an  ass  laden  with 
sand  into  Sheffield,  he  rose  to  the  highest  honours 
of  an  exalted  profession,  a  large  proportion  of 
the  persons  of  rank  and  distinction  in  his  own 
time  sat  to  him  for  busts  and  statues ;  he  was 

H 


74  TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERAKCE. 

knighted,  and  like  Canova,  left  considerable 
wealth,  at  his  death,  to  be  devoted  through 
future  time  to  the  encouragement  of  art.  His 
father,  who  was  a  small  farmer  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Sheffield,  wished  to  place  him  with 
a  grocer  or  an  attorney  ;  but  at  his  own  urgent 
desire,  he  was  apprenticed  with  a  carver  and 
gilder,  in  that  town.  An  engraver  and  por- 
trait-painter perceiving  his  devotion  to  art,  gave 


him  some  valuable  instruction ;  but  his  master 
did  not  incline  to  forward  his  favourite  pursuits, 
fearing  they  would  interfere  with  his  duties  as 
an  apprentice.  Young  Chantrey,  however,  re- 
solved not  to  be  defeated  in  his  aims,  and  hired 


CHANTREY.  75 

a  room  for  a  few  pence  a  week,  secretly  making 
it  his  studio.  His  apprenticeship  to  the  carver 
and  gilder  having  expired,  he  advertised  in 
Sheffield  to  take  portraits  in  crayons ;  and  two 
yeai's  afterwards  announced  that  he  had  com- 
menced taking  models  from  the  life.  Like 
Canova,  birt  untaught,  he  began  to  model  in 
clay  when  a  child  ;  and  at  two  and  twenty,  he 
thus  began  to  realise  his  early  bent.  Yet  pa- 
tronage was  but  scanty  at  Sheffield,  and  he 
successively  visited  Dublin,  Edinburgh  and 
London,  working  as  a  modeller  in  clay.  But, 
neither  in  these  larger  arenas  of  merit  did  he 
immediately  succeed  according  to  his  wish. 
Returning  to  Sheffield,  he  modelled  four  busts 
of  well-known  characters  there,  as  large  as  life, 
one  of  them  being  the  likeness  of  the  lately- 
deceased  vicar.  This  was  a  performance  of 
such  excellence  that  he  was  offered  a  commis- 
sion by  a  number  of  the  deceased  clergymen's 
friends,  to  execute  a  monument  to  the  same 
reverend  personage,  for  the  parish  church. 
Chantrey  had  never  yet  lifted  chisel  to  marble  ; 
and  it,  therefore,  required  all  the  courage  which 
consciousness  of  genius  alone  could  give  to'un- 


76 


THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 


dertake  such  a  task.  It  was  the  great  turning 
point  of  his  life.  He  accepted  the  commission, 
employed  a  marble-mason  to  rough-hew  the 
block,  set  about  the  completion  himself,  and 
finished  it  most  successfully.  Thenceforward 
his  course  was  open  to  the  excellence  he  dis- 
played in  giving  life-like  expression  to  historic 
portraits,  as  in  his  marble  statue  of  Watt,  in 
Westminster  Abbey,  and  his  bronze  statue  of 


3 


Pitt,  in  Hanover  Square  ;  and  above  all  in  in* 
fusing  poetry  into  marble,  as  in  his  exquisite 
sculpture  of  the  Lady  Louisa  Russell,  at  Wo- 
burn  Abbey,  and  his  unsurpassed  group,  "  the 
Sleeping  children,"  in  Lichfield  cathedral. 
In  the  lives  of  the  great   Michael   Angelo 


CHANTREY.  77 

himself,  of  Benvenuto  Cellini,  and  others,  may 
also  be  found  inspiring  records  of  the  tameless 
and  tireless  energy  which  has  secured  to  us 
many  of  the  great  triumphs  of  sculpture.  Our 
limits  demand  that  we  devote  the  remainder  of 
a  brief  chapter  to  a  glance  at  the  struggles  of 
painters. 


One  of  those  high  names  which  are  everlast- 
ing monuments  of  the  success  with  which  true 
genius  bids  defiance  to  the  hostilities  of  poverty 
and  envy,  might  be  claimed  with  pride  and 
fondness,  by  either  of  the  sister  arts  of  Poetry 

u2 


78         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

and  Music,  were  it  not  that  his  greatest  tri- 
umphs were  won  in  Painting.  The  wildness 
and  sublimity  of  his  canvas  had  their  types  in 
the  scenery  of  his  birth-place,  the  ancient  and 
decayed  villa  of  Renella,  within  view  of  mount 
Vesuvius,  and  near  to  Naples.  His  father  was 
a  poverty-stricken  artist,  and  descended  from  a 
family  to  whom  poverty  and  painting  had 
been  heirlooms,  for  generations.  Determined  to 
avert  the  continuance  of  this  inauspicious  union 
of  inheritances  in  the  life  of  his  child,  he  took 
counsel  with  his  wife,  and  they  resolved  to 
dedicate  him  to  the  service  of  the  Church.  He 
was,  accordingly  taken  to  the  font  in  the  grand 
church  pertaining  to  the  "  Monks  of  the  Cer- 
tosa,"  and  piously  named  *'  Salvatore,"  as  a 
sign  and  seal  of  the  religious  life  to  which  his 
parents  had  vowed  to  devote  him.  But  the 
method  they  took  to  bind  him  down  to  religious 
lessons  was  not  wise,  though  their  meaning 
was  no  doubt  good ;  and  the  boyish  E-osa  often 
became  a  truant,  wandered  away  for  days  among 
the  rocks  and  trees,  and  frequently  slept  out 
in  the  open  air  of  that  beautiful  climate.  His 
worship  of  the  sublime  scenery  with  which  he 


SALVATOR   ROSA.  79 

thus  became  familiar,  was  soon  evinced  in  the 
fidelity  of  numerous  sketches  of  picturesque  he 
drew  upon  the  walls  of  one  of  the  rooms,  in 
the  large  old  house  his  father  inhabited.  Un- 
checked by  the  reprehension  of  his  parents,  who 
dreaded  nothing  more  than  the  event  of  their 
child  becoming  an  artist,  he  one  day  entered 
the  monastery  of  the  Ccrtosa,  with  his  burnt 
sticks  in  his  hand,  his  only  instruments  of 
design,  and  began,  secretly  and  silently,  to 
scrawl  his  wild  sketches  upon  such  vacant 
spaces  as  he  could  find,  on  walls  that  abounded 
in  the  most  splendid  decorations  of  gold,  and 
vermilion  and  ultra-marine.  The  monks  caught 
him  at  his  daring  labour,  and  inflicted  upon 
him  a  severe  whipping;  but  neither  did  this 
subdue  his  thirst  to  become  an  artist. 

The  perplexity  of  Salvator's  parents  was  now 
very  great,  and  they  saw  no  chance  of  restrain- 
ing the  wayward  spirit  of  their  boy,  but  in  con- 
fiding him  to  other  tutelage :  not  reflecting  that 
he  had  displayed  talents  which  it  was  pecu- 
liarly in  their  own  power  to  direct,  and  foster 
into  a  perfection  the  result  of  which  might  have 
been  their  own  relief,  and  their  child's  happiness. 


80         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

He  was,  at  length,  sent  to  a  monastic  scKool ; 
and  "  Salvatoriello"  the  nickname  his  restless- 
ness and  ingenious  caprices  had  gained  him, 
was,  thenceforth  clad  in  the  long  gown  of 
a  monk  in  common  with  his  young  school- 
fellows. Repulsive  as  confinement  might  prove 
to  his  vehement  disposition,  it  was  at  this 
period  that  his  mind  received  the  solid  culture 
which  enabled  it  to  produce  claims  to  literary- 
distinction  at  a  future  time.  So  long  as  his 
lessons  were  confined  to  Homer,  Horace,  and 
Sallust,  he  manifested  no  disquiet  in  his  re- 
straint; but  when  the  day  came  that  he  must 
enter  on  the  subtleties  of  the  scholastic  philo- 
sophy, all  his  youthful  rebelliousness  against 
the  forced  and  injudicious  religious  tasks  im- 
posed on  him  by  his  own  parents,  rose  up,  and 
he  was  expelled  the  school  of  the  monastery  for 
contumacy.  The  grief  of  his  father  and  mother, 
at  beholding  their  boy,  in  his  sixteenth  year, 
thus  sent  back,  in  disgrace,  to  his  indigent 
home,  may  be  easily  conjectured.  Yet  this 
heavier  disaster  does  not,  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree, appear  to  have  opened  their  eyes,  as  to 
the  want  of  judgment  they  had  displayed  in 


SALVATOR    ROSA.  81 

their  child's  training:  the  mother  grew  in- 
creasingly passionate  in  her  desire  that  "  Sal- 
vatoriello"  should  be  a  churchman,  and  the 
father  resolved,  let  the  cast-out  schoolboy  take 
whatever  stamp  he  might,  he  should  not,  by  his 
parents'  help,  become  a  painter. 

The  occurrence  of  his  eldest  sister's  marriage 
to  Francanzani,  a  painter  of  considerable  genius, 
opened,  in  another  year,  the  way  for  Salvator's 
instruction  in  the  art  to  which  nature  so  strongly 
inclined  him.  He  had  already  essayed  his  powers 
in  poetry  and  music,  having  composed  several 
lyrics,  and  set  them  to  airs  dictated  by  his  own 
imagination,  feeling,  and  taste.  These  were 
great  favourites  with  the  crowds  of  Naples,  and 
were  daily  sung  by  the  women  who  sat  to  knit 
in  the  sunshine.  His  devotion  to  the  composition 
of  canzonets  was,  however,  ardently  shared 
with  the  novel  lessons  of  the  studio,  as  soon  as 
the  house  of  his  sister's  husband  was  opened  to 
him  for  an  asylum  from  the  harshness  of  his 
parental  home.  To  the  teaching  of  Francan- 
zani, he  speedily  added  the  copying  of  nature 
in  the  wilds  of  his  truant  childhood ;  and  often 
when  he  returned  from  the  mountains  with  his 


8^         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCB. 

primed  paper  full  of  sketches,  his  teacher 
would  pat  him  on  the  shoulder  encouragingly, 
and  say,  '*"  Rub  on,  rub  on,  Salvatoriello — that 
is  good!"  The  great  painter  often  related  to 
his  friends,  in  the  after  days  of  his  fame,  what 
energy  he  had  derived  from  those  simple  words 
of  friendly  approbation. 

Having  learnt  the  elements  of  his  profession, 
the  young  Eosa  set  out  to  take  his  giro,  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  all  young  painters,  at  that 
period.  He  did  not,  however,  take  his  way 
through  the  cities  of  Italy  most  famous  for  their 
galleries  of  Art,  like  other  youthful  artists ;  but 
yielding  to  the  bent  of  his  natural  genius  struck 
up,  adventurously,  into  the  mountains  of  the 
Abruzzi  and  the  wilds  of  Calabria.  Here  he 
was  taken  prisoner  by  banditti,  and  suffered 
great  hardships.  Whether  he  escaped  from 
them,  or  was,  in  the  end,  liberated,  is  not  clear; 
but  when  he  returned  to  Naples,  his  mind  was 
full  of  the  wondrous  pictures  of  wild  volcanic  and 
forest  scenery,  and  striking  forms  and  features 
of  mountain  robbers,  which  he,  forthwith,  be- 
gan to  realise. 

New  and  more  severe  difficulties  than  he  had 


SALVATOR    ROSA.  83 

ever  yet  had  to  encounter  fell  to  his  lot,  at  his 
return.  His  father  died  in  his  arms;  a  few 
days  after,  his  brother-in-law,  Francanzani,  was 
overwhelmed  wdth  poverty,  and  Salvator  was 
left  to  struggle  for  the  support  of  his  mother 
and  sisters.  Yet  his  strong  spirit  did  not  sink. 
He  laid  aside  music  and  poetry,  and  although 
too  poor  to  purchase  canvas,  began  to  depict  his 
wild  conceptions  on  primed  paper ;  and,  at  night, 
used  to  steal  out  and  sell  his  sketches  to  some 
shrewd  Jew  chapman  for  a  vile  price.  His 
gains  were  pitiful,  but  he  strove,  by  redoubled 
industry,  to  swell  their  amount  for  a  sufficient 
supply  of  the  family*s  necessities. 

An  accident  served  to  bring  into  notice  the 
genius  whose  high  merit  had  hitherto  met  with 
no  public  recognition.  Lanfranco,  the  artist 
who,  with  the  courtly  Spagnuoletto,  shared  the 
patronage  of  the  rich  in  Naples,  stopped  his 
equipage,  one  day,  in  the  "  Street  of  Charity,*' 
and  called  for  a  picture  to  be  brought  to  him 
which  arrested  his  eye  in  the  collection  of  one 
of  the  rivendotort,  or  second-hand  dealers.  It 
was  a  masterly  sketch  of  "  Hagar  in  the  Wilder- 
ness,*' and  the  obscure  name  of  "  Salvatoriello" 


84        THE  TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

was  subscribed  at  the  corner  of  it.  Lanfranco 
gave  orders  that  all  sketches  which  could  be 
found  bearing  that  name  should  be  bought  for 
him.  Rosa  immediately  raised  his  prices  ;  but 
although  this  high  acknowledgment  of  his  merit, 
brought  him  the  acquaintance  of  several  in- 
fluential names  in  his  profession,  he  was  speedily 
so  deeply  disgusted  with  the  jealously  and  envy 
of  others,  that  he  strapped  all  his  fortune  to  his 
back,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty,  set  out  on  foot, 
to  seek  better  treatment  at  Rome.  There  he 
studied  energetically,  worshipping,  above  all, 
the  kindred  genius  of  Michael  Angelo;  but 
meeting  with  a  renewal  of  neglect,  and  taking 
a  fever  from  the  malaria,  once  more  returned  to 
Naples.  The  misery  in  which  his  family  was 
plunged  was  still  greater  than  at  his  departure ; 
and  another  period  of  keen  life-combat  followed. 
This  repeated  struggle  did  not  depress  him; 
but  it  gave  his  mind  that  bitter  tendency 
which  he  afterwards  displayed  in  his  poetical 
"  Satires." 

At  twenty-four,  under  the  humble  patronage 
of  a  domestic  of  the  Cardinal  Brancaccia  he 
again  went  to  Rome ;  and  through  the  friend- 


SALVATOR    ROSA.  85 

ship  of  the  same  plain  acquaintance  had  a  large 
and  lonely  apartment  provided  for  him,  as  a 
studio,  in  the  cardinal's  palace.  Dependence 
nevertheless  revolted  his  lofty  spirit,  and  he 
again  returned  to  Naples,  but  engaged  to  send 
his  pictures  to  his  friend  for  public  exposure 
in  Rome.  His  "  Prometheus"  was  the  first  of 
his  pictures  exhibited  at  one  of  the  annual 
shows  in  the  Pantheon,  and  the  public  voice 
adjudged  it  to  be  the  greatest.  He  obeyed  a 
renewed  invitation  to  Rome,  but  it  was  still  to 
meet  with  disappoitment.  The  next  carnival 
furnished  his  versatile  genius  with  an  occasion 
for  winning,  by  humorous  stratagem,  the  atten- 
tion denied  to  his  more  sterling  merit.  He  put 
on  a  mask,  and  played  the  charlatan  and  im,' 
provisatore,  in  the  public  streets,  among  a 
crowd  of  such  exhibitors  as  abound  in  Rome 
at  such  seasons;  but  soon  eclipsed  them  all, 
by  the  splendour  of  his  wit.  Ouriosity  was 
raised  to  the  highest  pitch,  at  the  close  of  the 
carnival,  respecting  the  identity  of  this  un- 
equalled exhibitor;  and  when  he  was  pro- 
claimed to  be  the  painter  of  the  "  Prometheus," 
the  admiration  was  unbounded.    Salvator,  now, 

I 


86        THE  TRIUMPHS   OP   PERSEVERANCE. 

for  some  successive  months,  gave  himself  up 
to  conver saziones,  wherever  invited  j  and  there, 
by  his  wit,  his  lute,  and  canzonettes  paved  the 
way  for  his  greater  acceptance  as  a  painter. 

Jealousy,  in  that  age  of  corrupt  patronage 
and  jealous  artists,  still  pursued  him;  but  his 
genius,  thenceforth,  rose  above  all  opposition. 
His  landscapes  were  in  every  palace,  and  he  soon 
rose  to  affluence.  Yet  the  remainder  of  his  life 
was  chequered  with  difficulties  into  which  the 
vehemence  of  his  nature  perpetually  plunged 
him.  That  nature  was  unsubduable  amidst  all 
vicissitudes.  The  magnificent  creations  of  his 
"  Socrates  swallowing  Poison,"  "  Purgatory," 
"  Prodigal  Son,"  "  St.  Jerome,"  "  Babilonia," 
and  "  Conspiracy  of  Catiline,"  with  an  almost 
innumerable  catalogue  of  lesser  pieces,  flowed 
from  his  pencil,  during  a  life  alternately  marked 
by  devotion  to  each  of  the  sister  Arts,  and, 
during  one  portion  of  it,  to  political  contest — 
for  he  flew  to  Naples,  with  all  the  ardour  of 
patriotism,  and  joined  MasanieUo,in  his  sincere, 
but  short-lived  efl^ort  to  rescue  his  countrymen 
from  a  crushing  despotism.  His  participation 
in  the  celebrated  fisherman's  conspiracy  placed 


8ALVAT0R    ROSA.  87 

him  in  danger  of  the  Inquisition  on  his  return 
to  Rome ;  but  on  retiring  to  Florence,  he  be- 
came the  favourite  of  the  Grand  Duke,  Cosmo 
the  Third,  and  entered  on  a  career  of  opulent 
success,  which  attended  him  to  the  end  of 
life. 

The  life-passages  of  Salvator  Rosa,  by  in- 
judicious thwarting  of  his  nature,  were  ren- 
dered thorny  beyond  those  of  the  great  majo- 
rity of  men,  and  the  amazing  versatility  of  his 
talents,  combined  with  almost  volanic  ardour 
of  spirit,  defied  common  rules ;  but  the  strength 
of  his  judgment  so  completely  gave  him  the 
victory  over  influences  that  might  have  de- 
stroyed him,  as  to  lead  him  to  seek  the 
memorable  "  Triumphs  of  Perseverance,"  he 
secured  by  his  supreme  devotion  to  that  Art,  in 
which  there  is  reckoned  no  greater  name  for 
sublimity  and  originality,  and  none  of  greater 
general  excellence  than  those  of  Raffaelle  and 
Michael  Angelo.  Let  the  brief  sketch  of  Sal- 
vator Rosa  be  compared  with  the  much  more 
"  even  tenor"  of  the  life  of  another,  that  it 
may  be  seen  how  clearly,  in  spite  of  contrast, 
many  of  the  same  valuable  lessons  are  dedu- 
cible  from  it. 


88         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

^mjmxxi  Itet, 

An  American  Quaker  by  birth,  was  the  youngest 
of  a  family  of  ten  children,  and  was  nurtured 
with  great  tenderness  and  care ;  a  prophecy 
uttered  by  a  preacher  of  the  sect  having  im- 
pressed his  parents  with  the  belief  that  their 
child  would,  one  day,  become  a  great  man.  In 
what  way  the  prophecy  was  to  be  realised  they 
had  formed  to  themselves  no  definite  idea;  but 
an  incident  which  occurred  in  young  West's 
sixth  year,  led  his  father  to  ponder  deeply  as 
to  whether  its  fulfiment  were  not  begun.  Ben- 
jamin, being  left  to  watch  the  infant  child  of 
one  of  his  relatives  while  it  was  left  asleep  in 
the  cradle,  had  drawn  its  smiling  portrait,  in 
red  and  black  ink,  there  being  paper  and  pens 
on  the  table  in  the  room.  This  spontaneous 
and  earliest  essay  of  his  genius  was  so  strikingly 
truthful  that  it  was  instantly  and  rapturously 
recognised  by  the  family.  During  the  next 
year  he  drew  flowers  and  birds  with  pen  and 
ink;  but  a  party  of  Indians  coming  on  a  visit 
to  the  neighbourhood,  taught  him  to  prepare 
and  use  red  and  yellow  ochre  and  indigo.    Soon 


p.  88. 


1^ 


BENJAMIN    WEST.  89 

after,  he  heard  of  camel-hair  pencils,  and  the 
thought  seized  him  that  he  could  make  use  of 
a  substitute,  so  he  plucked  hairs  from  the  tail 
of  a  black  cat  that  was  kept  in  the  house, 
fashioned  his  new  instrument,  and  began  to 
lay  on  colours,  much  to  his  boyish  satisfaction. 
In  the  course  of  another  year,  a  visitant  friend, 
having  seen  his  pictures,  sent  him  a  box  of 
colours,  oils,  and  pencils,  with  some  pieces  of 
prepared  canvas,  and  a  few  engravings.  Ben- 
jamin's fascination  was  now  indescribable.  The 
seductions  presented  by  his  new  means  of 
creation  were  irresistible,  and  he  played  truant 
from  school  for  some  days,  stealing  up  into  a 
garret,  and  devoting  the  time,  with  all  the 
throbbing  wildness  of  delight  to  paiuting.  The 
schoolmaster  called,  the  truant  was  sought, 
and  found  in  the  garret  by  his  mother.  She  be- 
held what  he  had  done  ;  and  instead  of  repre- 
hending him,  fell  on  his  neck  and  kissed  him, 
with  tears  of  ecstatic  fondness.  How  different 
from  the  training  experienced  by  the  poor,  per- 
secuted and  tormented  "  Salvatoriello ! "  What 
wonder,  that  the  fiery-natured  Italian  afterwards 
drew  human  nature  with  a  severe  hand ;  and 

I  2 


90         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

how  greatly  might  his  vehement  disposition 
have  been  softened,  had  his  nurture  resembled 
that  of  the  child  of  these  gentle  Quakers  ! 

The  friend  who  had  presented  him  with  the 
box  of  colours,  some  time  after,  took  him  to 
Philadelphia,  where  he  was  introduced  to  a 
painter,  saw  his  pictures,  the  first  he  had  ever 
seen  except  his  own,  and  wept  with  emotion 
at  the  sight  of  them.  Some  books  on  Art  in- 
creased his  attachment  to  it;  and  some  presents 
enabled  him  to  purchase  materials  for  further 
exercises.  Up  to  his  eighteenth  year,  strange 
as  the  facts  seem,  he  received  no  instruction  in 
painting,  had  to  carve  out  his  entire  course 
himself,  and  yet  advanced  so  far  as  to  create 
his  first  historical  picture,  "  The  Death  of 
Socrates,'*  and  to  execute  portraits  for  several 
persons  of  taste.  His  father,  however,  had 
never  yet  assisted  him;  for  with  all  his  pondex- 
ings  on  the  preacher's  prophecy,  he  could  not 
shake  ofif  some  doubts  respecting  the  lawful- 
ness of  the  profession  of  a  painter,  to  which  no 
one  of  the  conscientious  sect  had  ever  yet 
devoted  himself.  A  counsel  of  "  Friends" 
was,  therefore,  called  together,  and  the  per- 


BENJAMIN    WEST.  91 

plexed  father  stated  his  difficulty  and  besought 
their  advice.  After  deep  consideration,  their 
decision  was  unanimous  that  the  youth  should 
be  permitted  to  pursue  the  objects  to  which 
he  was,  now,  both  by  nature  and  habit,  at- 
tached; and  young  Benjamin  was  called  in, 
and  solemnly  set  apart,  by  the  primitive  bre- 
thren, for  his  chosen  profession.  The  circum- 
stances of  this  consecration,  were  so  remark- 
able, that,  coupled  with  the  early  prophecy 
already  mentioned,  they  made  an  impression 
on  West's  mind  that  served  to  strengthen 
greatly  his  resolution  for  advancement  in  Art, 
and  for  devotion  to  it,  as  his  supreme  object, 
through  life. 

On  the  death  of  his  affectionate  mother,  he 
finally  left  his  father's  house,  and,  not  being 
yet  nineteen,  set  up  in  Philadelphia  as  a  por- 
trait-painter, and  soon  found  plenty  of  em- 
ployment. For  the  three  or  four  succeeding 
years  he  worked  unremittingly,  making  his 
second  essay  at  historic  painting  within  that 
term,  but  labouring  at  portraits,  chiefly  with 
the  view  of  winning  the  means  to  enable  him- 
self to  visit  Italy.     His  desire  was,  at  length. 


9^         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

accomplished,  a  merchant  of  New  York,  gene- 
rously presenting  him  with  fifty  guineas,  as  an 
additional  outfit,  and  thus  assisting  him  to  reach 
Rome  without  the  uneasiness  that  would  have 
arisen  from  straitness  of  means  in  a  strange 
land. 

The  appearance  of  a  Quaker  artist,  of  course, 
caused  great  excitement  in  the  metropolis  of 
Art;  crowds  of  wonderers  were  formed  around 
him;  but,  when  in  the  presence  of  the  great 
relics  of  Grecian  genius,  he  was  the  wildest 
wonderer  of  all.  "  How  like  a  young  Mo- 
hawk ! "  he  exclaimed,  on  first  seeing  the 
*'  Apollo  Belvidere,"  its  life-like  perfection 
bringing  before  his  mind,  instantaneously,  the 
free  forms  of  the  desert  children  of  Nature,  in 
his  native  America.  The  excitement  of  little 
more  than  one  month,  in  Rome,  threw  him 
into  a  dangerous  illness,  from  which  it  was 
some  time  before  he  recovered.  He  visited  the 
other  great  cities  of  Italy,  and  also  painted  and 
exhibited  two  great  historical  pictures,  which 
were  successful,  ere  the  three  years  were  com- 
pleted which  he  stayed  in  that  country.  He 
would  have   returned  to  Philadelphia;  but  a 


BENJAMIN    WEST.  93 

letter  from  his  father  recommended  him,  first, 
to  visit  England. 

West's  success  in  London  was,  speedily,  so 
decided,  that  he  gave  up  all  thoughts  of  re- 
turning to  America.  For  thirty  years  of  his 
life,  he  was  chiefly  employed  in  executing  for 
King  George  the  Thii'd,  the  great  historical  and 
scriptural  pictures  which  now  adorn  Windsor 
Palace,  and  the  Royal  Chapel.  After  the  abrupt 
termination  of  the  commission  given  him  by 
the  King,  he  continued,  still,  to  be  a  laborious 
painter.  His  pictures  in  oil  amount  to  about 
four  hundred,  and  many  of  them  are  of  very 
large  dimensions,  and  contain  a  great  number 
of  figures.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned, 
for  its  wide  celebrity,  the  representation  of 
"  Christ  healing  the  Sick,"  familiar  to  every 
visitor  of  the  National  Gallery.  If  polished 
taste  be  more  highly  charmed  with  other 
treasures  there,  the  heart  irresistibly  owns  the 
excellence  of  this  great  realisation  by  the  child 
of  the  American  Quaker.  He  received  three 
thousand  guineas  for  this  picture,  and  his  re- 
wards were  of  the  most  substantial  kind  ever 
after  his  settlement  in  England.     He  was  also 


94         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSE VERAN'CE. 

appointed  President  of  the  Royal  Academy  on 
the  death  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  and  held  the 
office  at  his  own  death,  in  the  eighty-second 
year  of  his  age. 

Though  exposed  to  no  opposition  from  envy 
or  jealousy,  at  any  time  of  his  career,  and 
though  encouraged  in  his  childish  bent,  and 
helped  by  all  who  knew  him  and  had  the 
power  to  help  him,  without  Perseverance  of 
the  most  energetic  character,  Benjamin  West 
would  not  have  continued  without  pattern  or 
instruction  to  labour  on  to  excellence,  nor 
would  he  have  sustained  his  prosperity  so 
firmly,  or  increased  its  productiveness  so  won- 
drously. 


^ 


96 


Cfeajiier  i\t  |0ttrtfe.— Pttskians. 


HANDEL. 


The  time  may  come  when  Music  will  be  uni- 
versally recognised  as  the  highest  branch  of 
Art ;  as  the  most  powerful  divulger  of  the  in- 
tellect's profoundest  conceptions  and  noblest 
aspirations  ;  as  the  truest  interpreter  of  the 
heart's  loves  and  hates,  joys  and  woes  ;  as  the 
purest,  least  sensual,  disperser  of  mortal  care 
and  sorrow;  as  the  aU-glorious  tongue  in  which 
refined,  good,  and  happy  beings  can,  most 
perfectly,  utter  their  thoughts  and  emotions. 
Perhaps,  this  cannot  be  till  the  realm  of  the 
physical  world  be  more  fully  subdued  by  man. 
The  human  faculties  have  hitherto  been,  neces- 
sarily, too  much  occupied   with   the  struggle 


96        THE  TRIUMI^HS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

for  existence,  for  security  against  want,  and 
protection  from  the  elements,  with  the  inven- 
tion of  better  and  swifter  modes  of  locomotion 
and  of  transmission  of  thought,  to  advance  to  a 
general  apprehension  of  the  superior  nature  of 
Music.  "^^  Practical  men'* — ^men  fitted  for  the 
discharge  of  the  world's  present  duties  by  their 
manifestion  of  the  readiest  and  fullest  capacity 
for  meeting  its  present  wants,  are,  naturally 
and  justly,  those  whom  the  world  most  highly 
Values  in  its  current  state  of  civilisation. 

This  necessary  preference  of  the  practical  to 
the  ideal  may  lead  many  who  cannot  spare  a 
thought  from  the  every-day  concerns  of  the 
world  to  deem,  hastily,  that  the  stern  and  ener- 
getic quality  of  Perseverance  cannot  be  fully 
developed  in  the  character  of  a  devotee  to 
Music.  But,  dismissing  the  greater  question 
just  hinted  at,  it  may  be  replied  that  it  is  the 
evident  tendency  of  man  to  form  the  lightest 
pleasures  of  the  mind,  as  well  as  his  gravest 
discoveries,  into  what  is  called  "  science;"  and 
the  lives  of  numerous  musicians  show  that  vast 
powers  of  application  have  been  continously 
devoted   to   the   elaboration   of    the   rules   of 


HANDEL.  97 

harmony,  while  others  have  employed  their 
genius  as  ardently  in  the  creation  of  melody. 
These  creations,  when  the  symbols  are  learnt 
in  which  they  are  written,  the  mind,  by  its 
refined  exorcism,  can  enable  the  voice,  or  the 
hand  of  the  instrumental  performer,  to  summon 
into  renewed  existence  to  the  end  of  time. 
Before  symbols  were  invented  and  rules  con- 
structed, the  wealth  of  Music  must,  necessarily, 
have  been  restricted  to  a  few  simple  airs  such 
as  the  memory  could  retain  and  easily  repro- 
duce. Perseverance — Perseverance,  has  guided 
and  sinewed  men's  love  of  the  beautiful  and 
powerful  in  melody  and  harmony,  until,  from 
the  simple  utterance  of  a  few  notes  of  feeling 
rudely  conveyed  from  sire  to  son  by  renewed 
utterance.  Music  has  grown  up  into  a  science 
dignified  and  adorned  by  profound  theorists, 
like  Albrechtsberger,  and  by  sublime  creative 
geniuses,  such  as  the  majestic  Handel,  and 
sweetest  Haydn,  and  universal  Mozart,  and 
sublime  Beethoven. 

For  their  successful  encounter  of  the  great 
"  battle  of  life,'*  a  hasty  thinker  would,  also, 
judge  that  the  extreme  susceptibility  of  musi- 

K 


98  THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

cians  must  unfit  them;  extreme  susceptibility 
which  is,  perhaps,  more  peculiarly  their  inherit- 
ance than  it  is  that  even  of  poets.  Yet  the  records 
of  the  lives  of  musical  men  prove,  equally  with 
the  biographies  of  artists,  authors,  and  linguists, 
that  true  genius,  whatever  may  be  the  object 
of  its  high  devotion,  is  unsubduable  by  cala- 
mity and  opposition.  The  young  inquirer  will 
find  ample  proof  of  this  in  various  biogra- 
phies :  our  limits  demand  that  we  confine  our- 
selves to  one  musician  as  an  exemplar  of  the 
grand  attribute  of  Perseverance. 


The  first  of  the  four  highest  names  in  Music, 
was  the  son  of  a  physician  of  Halle,  in  Lower 
Saxony,  and  was  designed  by  his  father  for  the 
study  of  the  civil  law.  The  child's  early  at- 
tachment to  music,  for  he  could  play  well  on 
the  old  instrument  called  a  clavichord  before 
he  was  seven  years  old,  was,  therefore,  witnessed 
by  his  parent  with  great  displeasure.  Un- 
able to  resist  the  dictates  of  his  nature,  the  boy 


i>.  yb 


0' 


M 


HANDEL.  99 

used  to  climb  up  into  a  lonely  garret,  shut  him- 
self up,  and  practise,  chiefly  when  the  family 
were  asleep.  He  attached  himself  so  diligently 
to  the  practise  of  his  clavichord,  that  it  en- 
abled him,  without  ever  having  received  the 
slightest  instruction,  to  become  an  expert  per- 
former on  the  harpsichord.  It  was  at  this  early 
age  that  the  resolution  of  young  Handel  was 
manifested  in  the  singular  incident  often  told 
of  his  childhood.  His  father  set  out  in  a  chaise 
to  go  and  visit  a  relative  who  was  valet-de- 
chambre  to  the  Duke  of  Saxe-Weisenfels,  but 
refused  to  admit  the  boy  as  a  partner  in  his 
journey.  After  the  carriage,  however,  the  boy 
ran,  kept  closely  behind  it  for  some  miles,  un- 
conquerable in  his  determination  to  proceed, 
and  was,  at  last,  taken  into  the  chaise,  by  his 
father.  When  arrived,  it  was  impossible  to 
keep  him  from  the  harpsichords  in  the  duke's 
palace ;  and,  in  the  chapel,  he  contrived  to  get 
into  the  organ-loft,  and  began  to  play  with  such 
skill  on  an  instrument  he  had  never  before 
touched,  that  the  duke,  overhearing  him,  was 
surprised,  asked  who  he  was,  and  then  used 
every  argument  to  induce  the  father  to  make 


100      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

the  child  a  musician,  and  promised  to  patronise 
him. 

Overcome  hy  the  reasonings  of  this  influen- 
tial personage,  the  physician  gave  up  the 
thought  of  thwarting  his  child's  disposition; 
and,  at  their  return  to  Halle,  placed  young 
Handel  under  the  tuition  of  Zackau,  the  or- 
ganist of  the  cathedral.  The  young  "  giant" 
— a  designation  afterwards  so  significantly  be- 
stowed upon  him  by  Pope — grew  up  so  rapidly 
into  mastery  of  the  instrument,  that  he  was 
soon  able  to  conduct  the  music  of  the  cathedral 
in  the  organist's  absence;  and,  at  nine  years 
old,  composed  church-services  both  for  voices 
and  instruments.  At  fourteen,  he  excelled  his 
master;  and  his  father  resolved  to  send  him, 
for  higher  instruction  to  a  musical  friend, 
who  was  a  professor  at  Berlin.  The  opera 
then  flourished  in  that  city  more  highly  than 
in  any  other  in  Germany;  the  king  marked 
the  precocious  genius  of  the  young  Saxon,  and 
offered  to  send  him  into  Italy,  for  still  more 
advantageous  study;  but  his  father,  who  was 
now  seventy  years  old,  would  not  consent  to 
his  leaving  his  "  fatherland." 


HANDEL.  101 

Handel  next  went  to  Hamburgh,  where  the 
operawas  only  little  inferior  to  Berlin.  His  father 
died  soon  after ;  and,  although  but  in  his  four- 
teenth year,  the  noble  boy  entered  the  or- 
chestra, as  a  salaried  performer,  took  scholars, 
and  thus,  not  only  secured  his  own  indepen- 
dent mamtenance,  but  sent  frequent  pecuniary 
help  to  his  mother.  How  worshipfully  the 
true  children  of  Genius  blend  their  convic- 
tions of  moral  duty  with  the  untiring  aim  to 
excel ! 

On  the  resignation  of  Keser,  composer  to 
the  opera,  and  first  harpsichord  in  Hamburgh, 
a  contest  for  the  situation  took  place  between 
Handel,  and  the  person  who  had  hitherto  been 
Keser's  second.  Handel's  decided  superiority 
of  skill  secured  him  the  office,  although  he  was 
but  fifteen  years  of  age;  but  his  success  had 
nearly  cost  him  his  life,  for  his  disappointed 
antagonist  made  a  thrust  with  a  sword,  at  his 
breast,  where  a  music-book,  Handel  had  but- 
toned under  his  coat,  prevented  the  entrance  of 
the  weapon.  Numerous  sonatas,  three  operas, 
and  other  admired  pieces  were  composed  dur- 
ing   Handel's   superintendence   of  the   Ham- 

K  2 


102      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

burgh  opera;  but,  at  nineteen,  being  invited 
by  the  brother  of  the  Grand  Duke,  he  left  that 
city  for  Tuscany.  He  received  high  patronage 
at  Florence,  and  afterwards  visited  Venice, 
Kome,  and  Naples,  residing,  for  shorter  or 
longer  periods,  in  each  city,  producing  nume- 
rous operas,  cantatas,  and  other  pieces,  reap- 
ing honours  and  rewards,  and  becoming  ac- 
quainted with  Corelli,  Scarlatti,  and  other  music- 
ians, till,  after  spending  six  years  in  Italy,  he 
returned  to  Germany. 

Through  the  friendship  of  Baron  Kilman- 
segg,  he  was  introduced  to  the  Elector  of 
Hanover,  was  made  "  chapel-master"  to  the 
court,  and  had  a  pension  conferred  upon  him 
of  fifteen  hundred  crowns  a  year.  In  order  to 
secure  the  services  of  the  "  great  musician," 
as  he  was  acknowledged  now  to  be,  the  King 
provided  that  he  should  be  allowed,  at  will, 
to  be  absent  for  a  year  at  a  time.  The  very 
next  year  he  took  advantage  of  this  provision, 
and  set  out  for  England,  having  first  visited 
his  old  master  Zackau,  and  his  aged  and  blind 
mother  for  the  last  time — still  true,  amidst  the 


HANDEL.  103 

dazzling  influences  of  his   popularity,  to   the 
most  correct  emotions  of  the  heart ! 

His  opera  of  "  Rinaldo"  was  performed,  with 
great  success,  during  his  stay  in  this  country, 
and  after  one  year  he  returned  to  Hanover; 
yet  his  predilection  for  England,  above  every 
other  country  he  had  seen,  was  so  strong,  that 
after  the  lapse  of  another  year,  he  was  again  in 
London.  The  peace  of  Utrecht  occurred  a  few 
months  aft^r  his  second  arrival,  and  having 
composed  a  Te  Deum  and  Jubilate  in  celebra- 
tion of  it,  and  thereby  won  such  favour  that 
Queen  Anne  was  induced  to  solicit  his  con- 
tinuance in  England,  and  to  confer  upon  him 
a  pension  of  £200  a  year,  Handel  resolved  to 
forfeit  his  Hanoverian  pension,  and  made  up 
his  mind  to  remain  in  London.  But,  two  years 
afterwards,  the  Queen  died,  and  the  great 
musician  was  now  in  deep  dread  that  his  sligh^ 
of  the  Elector's  favours  would  be  resented  by 
that  personage  on  becoming  King  of  England. 
George  the  First,  indeed,  expressed  himself 
very  indignantly  respecting  Handel's  conduct; 
but  the  Baron  Kilmansegg  again  rendered  his 


104      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

friend  good  service.  He  instructed  Handel  to 
compose  music  of  a  sriking  character,  to  be 
played  on  the  water,  as  the  King  took  amuse- 
ment with  a  gay  company.  Handel  created  his 
celebrated  ''  Water  Music/'chiefly  adapted  for 
horns;  and  the  eifect  was  so  striking  that  the 
King  was  delighted.  Kilmansegg  seized  the 
opportunity  and  sued  for  the  restoration  of  his 
friend  to  favour.  The  boon  was  richly  ob- 
tained, for  Handel's  pension  was  raised  to 
£400  per  annum,  and  he  was  appointed  musical 
teacher  to  the  young  members  of  the  Royal 
Family. 

Prosperity  seemed  to  have  selected  Handel 
up  to  this  period,  for  her  favourite ;  but  severe 
reverses  were  coming.  The  opera  in  this 
country  had  hitherto  been  conducted  on  worn- 
out  and  absurd  principles,  and  a  large  body  of 
the  people  of  taste  united  to  promote  a  reform. 
Rival  opera-houses  (as  at  the  present  period) 
were  opened;  and  during  nine  years  Handel 
superintended  one  establishment.  It  was  one 
perpetual  quarrel:  when  his  opponents,  by  any 
change,  had  become  so  feeble,  that  he  seemed 
on  the  eve  of  a  final  triumph,  one  or  other  of 


HANDEL.  106 

the  singers  in  his  own  company  would  grow 
unmanageable :  Senesino  was  the  chief  of  these, 
and  Handel's  refusal  to  accept  the  mediation 
of  several  of  the  nobility  and  be  reconciled  to 
him,  caused  the  establishment  over  which  he 
presided  to  be  finally  broken  up.  The  great 
powers  of  Farinelli,  the  chief  singer  at  the  rival 
house,  to  whom  an  equal  could  not  then  be  found 
in  Europe,  also  largely  contributed  to  Handel's 
ruin.  He  withdrew,  with  a  loss  of  ten  thou- 
sand pounds ;  his  constitution  seemed  com- 
pletely broken  with  the  years  of  harassment  he 
had  experienced;  and  he  retired  to  the  baths 
of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  scarcely  with  the  hope,  on 
the  part  of  his  firiends,  that  they  would  ever 
see  him  in  England  again. 

His  paralysis  and  other  ailments,  however, 
disappeared  with  wondrous  suddenness,  after 
he  reached  the  medical  waters,  he  recovered 
full  health  and  vigour,  and,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
two  returned  to  England  with  the  manly  re- 
solve to  struggle  till  he  had  paid  his  debts,  and 
once  more  retrieved  a  fortune  equal  to  his  for- 
mer condition.  It  was  now  that  the  whole 
strength  of  the  man  was  tried.     He  produced 


106      THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

his  "Alexander's  Feast;"  but,  in  spite  of  its 
acknowledged  merit,  tlie  nobility  whom  he  had 
offended,  would  not  patronise  him.  He  pro- 
duced other  pieces  but  they  failed,  from  the 
same  cause.  He  then  bent  his  mighty  genius 
on  the  creation  of  newer  and  grander  attrac- 
tions than  had  ever  been  yet  introduced  in 
music,  and  produced  his  unequalled  ^^  Messiah" 
which  was  performed  at  Covent  Garden,  dur- 
ing Lent.  Yet  the  combination  against  him 
was  maintained  until  he  sunk  into  deeper  diffi- 
culties than  ever. 

Unsubdued  by  the  failures  which  had  accu- 
mulated around  him  during  the  five  years  which 
had  elapsed  since  his  return  to  England,  he  set 
out  for  Ireland,  at  fifty-seven,  and  had  his 
*'  Messiah"  performed  in  Dublin,  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  city-prison.  His  success  was  instan- 
taneous, several  performances  took  place  for 
his  own  benefit ;  and  the  next  year  he  renewed 
the  war  against  Fortune,  in  London,  by  pro- 
ducing his  magnificent  "  Samson"  and  having 
it  performed  together  with  his  "  Messiah,"  at 
Covent  Garden.  The  first  renewed  perform- 
ance of  the  "  Messiah"  was  for  the  benefit  of 


HANDEL.  107 

the  Foundling  Hospital;  and  the  funds  of 
that  philanthropic  institution  were  thenceforth, 
annually  benefitted  by  the  repetition  of  that 
sublime  Oratorio.  Prejudice  was  now  subdued, 
the  "  mighty  master "  triumphed,  and  his  dar- 
ling wish  for  honourable  independence  was 
fully  realised;  for  more  than  he  had  lost  was 
retrieved. 

Handel's  greatest  works,  like  those  of  Haydn, 
were  produced  in  his  advanced  years.  His 
*'  Jephthah"  was  produced  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
seven.  Paralysis  returned  upon  him,  at  fifty- 
nine,  and  gutta  serena — Milton's  memorable 
affliction — reduced  him  to  "  total  eclipse"  of 
sight,  some  years  after;  but  he  submitted  cheer- 
fully to  his  lot,  after  brief  murmuring,  and  con- 
tinued, by  dictation  to  an  amanuensis,  the  crea- 
tion of  new  works,  and  the  performance  of  his 
Oratorios  to  the  last.  He  conducted  his  last 
Oratorio  but  a  week  before  his  death,  and  died, 
as  he  had  always  desired  to  do  on  Good  Friday, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-five.  He  was  interred, 
with  distinguished  honours  among  the  great 
and  good  of  that  country  which  had  naturalised 
him,  in  Westminster  Abbey.    May  the  sight  of 


108      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

his  monument  inspire  the  young  reader  with 
an  unquenchable  zeal  to  emulate,  in  whatever 
path  wisdom  may  direct  life  to  be  passed,  the 
moral  and  intellectual  excellencies  of  this  glori- 
ous disciple  of  Perseverance? 


109 


Chapter  tk  liftlr.— Scitntifit  §mkxn^  anJr 
Pctfeanitians, 


If  great  proficiency  in  tongues,  skill  to  depic- 
ture human  thought  and  character,  and  enthu- 
siastic devotion  to  art  be  worthy  of  our  admira- 
tion, the  toiling  intelligences  who  have  taught 
us  to  subdue  the  physical  world,  and  to  bring 
it  to  subserve  our  wants  and  wishes,  claim 
scarcely  less  homage.  Art  and  literature  could 
never  have  sprung  into  existence  if  men  had 
remained  mere  strugglers  for  life,  in  their 
inability  to  contend  with  the  elements  of  na- 
ture, because  ignorant  of  its  laws;  and  an 
acquaintance  with  the  languages  of  tribes 
merely  barbarous  would  have  been  but  a 
worthless   kind   of  knowledge.     To   scientific 


110      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

discoverers,^tlie  pioneers  of  civilization,  who 
make  the  world  worth  living  in,  and  render 
man's  tenancy  of  it  more  valuable  by  every 
successive  step  of  discovery,  our  primary  tri- 
bute of  admiration  and  gratitude  seems  due. 
They  are  the  grand  revealers  of  the  physical 
security,  health,  plenty,  and  means  of  locomo- 
tion, which  give  the  mind  vantage-ground  for 
its  reach  after  higher  refinement  and  purer 
pleasures. 

Should  the  common  observation  be  urged 
that  many  of  the  most  important  natural  dis- 
coveries have  resulted  from  accident,  let  it  be 
remembered,  that,  but  for  the  existence  of  some 
of  our  race,  more  attentive  than  the  rest,  nature 
might  stiU  have  spoken  in  vain,  as  she  had 
undoubtedly  done  to  thousands  before  she 
found  an  intelligent  listener,  in  each  grand 
instance  of  physical  discovery.  Grant  all  the 
truth  that  may  attach  to  the  observation  just 
quoted,  and  yet  the  weighty  reflection  remains, 
that  it  was  only  by  men  who,  in  the  sailor's 
phrase,  were  "  on  the  look-out,"  that  the  reve- 
lations of  nature  were  caught.  The  natural 
laws  were  in  operation  for  ages,  but  were  un- 


•^ 


SIR    HLMl'llKK^     DAVY.  Ill 

discovered,  because  men  guessed  rather  than 
enquired,  or  lived  on  without  heed  to  mark, 
effort  to  comprehend,  industry  to  register,  and, 
above  all,  without  perseverance  to  proceed  from 
step  to  step  in  discovery,  till  entire  truths  were 
learnt.  That  these  have  been  the  attributes  of 
those  to  whom  we  owe  the  rich  boon  of  science, 
a  rapid  survey  of  some  of  their  lives  will  mani- 
fest 


Sir  Imnptrcg  galij, 

the  son  of  a  wood  carver  of  Penzance,  was 
apprenticed  by  his  father  to  a  surgeon  and 
apothecary  of  that  town,  and  afterwards  with 
another  of  the  same  profession,  but  gave  little 
satisfaction  to  either  of  his  masters.  Natural 
philosophy  had  become  his  absorbing  passion ; 
and,  even  while  a  boy,  he  dreamt  of  future 
fame  as  a  chemist.  The  rich  diversity  of  mine- 
rals in  Cornwall  offered  the  finest  field  for  his 
empassioned  enquiries ;  and  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  rambling  aloxxe  for  miles,  bent  upon  his 
yearning    investigation    into    the   wonders   of 


112      THE    TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

nature.  In  his  master's  garret,  and  with  the 
assistance  of  such  a  laboratory  as  he  could 
form  for  himself  from  the  phials  and  gallipots 
of  the  apothecary's  shop,  and  the  pots  and  pans 
of  the  kitchen,  he  brought  the  mineral  and 
other  substances  he  collected  to  the  test.  The 
surgeon  of  a  French  vessel  wrecked  on  the 
coast  gave  him  a  case  of  instruments,  among 
which  was  one  that  he  contrived  to  fashion 
into  an  air-pump ;  and  he  was  soon  enabled  to 
extend  the  range  of  his  experiments,  but  the 
proper  use  of  many  of  the  instruments  was  un- 
known to  him. 

A  fortunate  accident  brought  him  the  ac- 
quaintanceship of  Davies  Gilbert,  an  eminent 
man  of  science.  Young  Davy  was  leaning  one 
day  on  the  gate  of  his  father's  house,  when  a 
friend,  who  was  passing  by  with  Mr.  Gilbert, 
said,  "  That  is  young  Davy,  who  is  so  fond  of 
chemistry."  Mr.  Gilbert  immediately  entered 
into  conversation  with  the  youth,  and  offered 
him  assistance  in  his  studies.  By  the  kind 
offices  of  his  new  friend  he  was  afterwards 
introduced  to  Dr.  Beddoes,  who  had  formed  a 
pneumatic  institution  at  Bristol,  and  was  in 


SIR    HUMPHREY    DAVY.  US 

want  of  a  superintendent  for  it.  At  the  age  of 
nineteen  Davy  received  this  appointment,  and 
immediately  began  the  splendid  course  of  che- 
mical discovery  which  has  rendered  his  name 
immortal  as  one  of  the  greatest  benefactors,  as 
well  as  geniuses,  of  the  race. 

At  twenty-one  he  published  his  "  Researches, 
Chemical  and  Philosophical,  chiefly  concerning 
Nitrous  Oxide,  and  its  respiration."  The  sin- 
gularly intoxicating  quality  of  this  gas  when 
breathed  was  unknown  before  Davy's  publica- 
tion of  his  experiments  in  this  treatise.  The 
attention  it  drew  upon  him  from  the  scientific 
world  issued  in  his  being  invited  to  leave 
Bristol,  and  take  the  chair  of  chemistry  which 
had  just  been  established  in  the  London  Royal 
Institution.  Although  but  a  youth  of  two- 
and-twenty,  his  lectures  in  the  metropolis 
were  attended  by  breathless  crowds  of  men  of 
science  and  title  ;  and,  in  another  year,  he  was 
also  appointed  Professor  of  Chemistry  to  the 
Board  of  Agriculture.  His  lectures  in  that 
capacity  greatly  advanced  chemical  knowledge, 
and  were  published  at  the  request  of  the  Board. 
When  twenty-five  he  was  elected  a  Fellow  of 

L  2 


114      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

the  Royal  Society,  and,  on  the  death  of  Sir 
Joseph  Banks,  was  made  its  President,  by  a 
unanimous  vote.  It  was  in  the  delivery  of  his 
Bakerian  lectures  before  this  learned  body  that 
he  laid  the  foundation  of  the  new  science  called 
"  electro-chemistry."  The  Italians,  Volta  and 
G9,lvani,  had,  some  years  before,  discovered 
aild  made  known  the  surprising  effects  pro- 
diiced  on  the  muscles  of  dead  animals  by  two 
metals  being  brought  into  contact  with  each 
other.  Davy  showed  that  the  metals  under- 
went chemical  changes,  not  by  what  had  been 
hitherto  termed  "  electricity,"  but  by  affinity ; 
and  that  the  same  effects  might  be  produced  by 
one  of  the  metals,  provided  a  fluid  were  brought 
to  act  on  its  surface  in  a  certain  manner.  The 
composition  and  decomposition  of  substances 
by  the  application  of  the  galvanic  energy,  as 
displayed  in  the  experiments  of  the  young 
philosopher,  filled  the  minds  of  men  of  science 
with  wonder. 

His  grand  discoveries  of  the  metallic  bases 
of  the  alkalies  and  earths,  of  the  various  pro- 
perties of  the  gases,  and  of  the  connexion  of 
electricity  and  magnetism,  continued  to  absorb 


SIR    HUMPHREY    DAVY.  116 

the  attention  of  the  scientific  world  through 
succeeding  years  ;  but  a  simple  invention, 
whereby  human  life  was  rescued  from  danger  in 
mines,  the  region  whence  so  great  a  portion  of 
the  wealth  of  England  is  derived,  placed  him 
before  the  minds  of  millions,  learned  and 
illiterate,  as  one  of  the  guardians  of  man's 
existence.  This  was  the  well-known  "safety 
lamp,"  an  instrument  which  is  provided  at  a 
trifling  expense,  and  with  which  the  toiling 
miner  can  enter  subterranean  regions  unpierc- 
able  before,  without  danger  of  explosion  of  the 
*' fire-damp,"  so  destructive,  before  this  dis- 
covery, to  the  lives  of  thousands.  The  hum- 
blest miner  rejects  any  other  name  but  that  of 
"Davy  Lamp"  for  this  apparently  insignifi- 
cant protector;  and  ventures,  with  it  in  his 
hand,  cheerfully  and  boldly  into  the  realms  of 
darkness  where  the  "black  diamonds"  lie  so 
many  fathoms  beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
and,  not  seldom,  under  the  bed  of  the  sea. 
The  proprietors  of  the  northern  coal  mines 
presented  the  discoverer  with  a  service  of  plate 
of  the  value  of  £2000,  at  a  public  dinner,  as  a 
manifestation  of  their  sense  of  his  merits.      He 


116 


THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 


was  the  first  person  knighted  by  the  Prince 
Regent,  afterwards  King  George  IV.,  and  was 
a  few  years  after  raised  to  the  baronetage. 
Such  honours  served  to  mark  the  estimation  in 
which  he  was  held  by  those  who  had  it  in  their 
power  to  confer  them;  but  Davy's  enduring 
distinctions,  like  those  of  the  unequalled  New- 
ton, are  derived  from  the  increase  of  power 
over  nature,  which  he  has  secured  for  millions 
yet  unborn,  by  the  force  of  his  genius,  girt  up, 
tirelessly  by  Perseverance,  till  its  grand  tri- 
umphs were  won. 

From  this  hasty  survey  of  the  magnificent 
course  of  one  of  the  great  penetrators  into  the 
secrets  of  nature,  and  preservers  of  human  life, 
let  us  cast  a  glance  on  the  struggles  of  one  who 
has  been  the  means  of  multyplying  man's  hands 
and  fingers,  to  use  a  strong  figure,  of  opening 
up  sources  of  employment  for  millions,  and  of 
showing  the  road  to  wealth  for  thousands. 

Sit  ptfearJj  Jtrteig^t 

was  a  poor  barber  till  the  age  of  thirty,  and 
then  changed  his  trade  for  that  of  an  itinerant 


SIR   EICHARD    ARKWRIGHT.  117 

dealer  in  hair.  Nothing  is  known  of  any  early 
attachment  he  had  for  mechanical  inventions; 
but,  about  four  years  after  he  had  given  up 
shav-ing  beards,  he  is  found  enthusiastically 
bent  on  the  project  of  discovering  the  "per- 
petual motion,"  and,  in  his  quest  for  a  person 
to  make  him  some  wheels,  gets  acquainted  with 
a  clockmaker  of  Warrington,  named  Kay.  This 
individual  had  also  been  for  some  time  bent  on 
the  construction  of  new  mechanic  powers,  and, 
either  to  him  alone,  or  to  the  joint  wit  of  the 
two,  is  to  be  attributed  their  entry  on  an 
attempt  at  Preston,  in  Lancashire,  to  erect  a 
novel  machine  for  spinning  cotton-thread.  The 
partnership  was  broken,  and  the  endeavour 
given  up,  in  consequence  of  the  threats  uttered 
by  the  working  spinners,  who  dreaded  that 
such  an  invention  would  rob  them  of  bread, 
by  lessening  the  necessity  for  human  labour ; 
and  Arkwright,  alone,  bent  on  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  design,  went  to  Nottingham.  A 
firm  of  bankers  in  that  town  made  him  some 
advances  of  capital,  with  a  view  to  partake  in 
the  benefits  arising  from  his  invention ;  but,  as 
Aikwright's  first  machines  did  not  answer  his 


118      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

end  efficiently,  they  grew  weary  of  the  connec- 
tion, and  refused  further  supplies.  Unshaken 
in  his  own  belief  of  future  success,  Arkwright 
now  took  his  models  to  a  firm  of  stocking- 
weavers,  one  of  whom,  Mr.  Strutt, — a  name 
which  has  also  become  eminent  in  the  manu- 
facturing enterprise  of  the  country, — was  a 
man  of  intelligence,  and  of  some  degree  of 
acquaintance  with  science.  This  firm  entered 
into  a  partnership  with  Arkwright,  and,  he 
having  taken  out  a  patent  for  his  invention, 
they  built  a  spinning-mill,  to  be  driven  by 
horse-power,  and  filled  it  with  frames.  Two 
years  afterwards  they  built  another  mill  at 
Cromford,  in  Derbyshire,  moved  by  water- 
power;  but  it  was  in  the  face  of  losses  and 
discouragements  that  they  thus  pushed  their 
speculations.  During  five  years  they  sunk 
twelve  thousand  pounds,  and  his  partners  were 
often  on  the  point  of  giving  up  the  scheme. 
But  Arkwright's  confidence  only  increased 
with  failure,  and,  by  repeated  essays  at  contri- 
vance, he  finally,  and  most  triumphantly  suc- 
ceeded. He  lived  to  realise  an  immense  for- 
tune, and  his  present  descendant  is  understood 


THE  REV.  EDMUND  CARTWRIGHT,  D.D.    119 

to  be  one  of  the  wealthiest  persons  in  the  king- 
dom. The  weight  of  cotton  imported  now  is 
three  hundred  times  greater  than  it  was  a 
century  ago;  and  its  manufacture,  since  the 
invention  of  Arkwright,  has  become  the  great- 
est in  England. 


f  fee  ^elj»  (gJmiuni  tfarttorigfet,  |.g» 

must  be  mentioned  as  the  meritorious  individual 
who  completed  the  discovery  of  cotton  manu- 
facture, by  the  invention  of  the  power-loom. 
His  tendency  towards  mechanical  contrivances 
had  often  displayed  itself  in  his  youth ;  but  his 
love  of  literature,  and  settlement  in  the  church, 
led  him  to  lay  aside  such  pursuits  as  trifles, 
and  it  was  not  till  his  fortieth  year  that  a  con* 
versation  occurred  which  roused  his  dormant 
faculty.  His  own  account  of  it  must  be  given, 
not  only  for  the  sake  of  its  striking  character, 
but  for  the  powerftd  negative  it  puts  upon  the 
hackneyed  observation  that  almost  all  great  and 
useful  discoveries  have  resulted  from  "  acci- 
dent."    The  narrative  first  appeared  in  the 


ISO      THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

"  Supplement   to    the    Encyclopaedia    Britan- 
nica." 

"  Happening  to  be  at  Matlock,  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1784,  I  fell  in  company  with  some 
gentlemen  of  Manchester,  when  the  conversa- 
tion turned  on  Arkwright's  spinning-machinery. 
One  of  the  company  observed  that,  as  soon  as 
Arkwright's  patent  expired,  so  many  mills 
would  be  erected,  and  so  much  cotton  spun, 
that  hands  would  never  be  found  to  weave  it. 
To  this  observation  I  replied,  that  Arkwright 
must  then  set  his  wits  to  work  to  invent  a 
weaving-mill.  This  brought  on  a  conversation 
upon  the  subject,  in  which  the  Manchester 
gentlemen  unanimously  agreed  that  the  thing 
was  impracticable,  and,  in  defence  of  their 
opinion,  they  adduced  arguments  which  I 
was  certainly  incompetent  to  answer,  or  even 
to  comprehend,  being  totally  ignorant  of  the 
subject,  having  never  at  the  time  seen  a  person 
weave.  I  controverted,  however,  the  imprac- 
ticability of  the  thing  by  remarking  that  there 
had  been  lately  exhibited  in  London  an  au- 
tomaton figure  which  played  at  chess.  Now 
you  will  not  assert,  gentlemen,  said  I,  that  it  is 


THE  REV.  EDMUND  CARTWRIOHT,  D.D.    121 

more  difficult  to  construct  a  machine  that  shall 
weave,  than  one  that  shall  make  all  the  variety 
of  moves  that  are  required  in  that  complicated 
game.  Some  time  afterwards  a  particular  cir- 
cumstance recalling  this  conversation  to  my 
mind,  it  struck  me  that,  as  in  plain  weaving, 
according  to  the  conception  I  then  had  of  the 
business,  there  could  be  only  three  movements, 
which  were  to  follow  each  other  in  succession, 
there  could  be  little  difficulty  in  producing  and 
repeating  them.  Full  of  these  ideas,  I  imme- 
diately employed  a  carpenter  and  smith  to 
carry  them  into  effect.  As  soon  as  the  machine 
was  finished  I  got  a  weaver  to  put  in  the  warp, 
which  was  of  such  materials  as  sail-cloth  is 
usually  made  of.  To  my  great  delight,  a  piece 
of  cloth,  such  as  it  was,  was  the  produce.  As 
I  had  never  before  turned  my  thoughts  to 
mechanism,  either  in  theory  or  practice,  nor 
had  seen  a  loom  at  work,  nor  knew  anything  of 
its  construction,  you  will  readily  suppose  that 
my  first  loom  must  have  been  a  most  rude 
piece  of  machinery.  The  warp  was  laid  per- 
pendicularly;  the  reed  fell  with  a  force  of  at 
least  half-a- hundred  weight;   and  the  springs 

M 


122      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

which  threw  the  shuttle  were  strong  enough  to 
have  thrown  a  congreve  rocket.  In  short,  it 
required  the  strength  of  two  powerful  men  to 
work  the  machine,  at  a  slow  rate,  and  only  for 
a  short  time.  Conceiving,  in  my  simplicity, 
that  I  had  accomplished  all  that  was  required, 
I  then  secured  what  I  thought  a  most  valuable 
property  by  a  patent,  4th  of  April,  1785.  This 
being  done,  I  then  condescended  to  see  how 
other  people  wove;  and  you  will  guess  my 
astonishment  when  I  compared  their  easy 
modes  of  operation  with  mine.  Availing  my- 
self, however,  of  what  I  then  saw,  I  made  a 
loom  in  its  general  principles  nearly  as  they  are 
now  made.  But  it  was  not  till  the  year  1787 
that  I  completed  my  invention,  when  I  took 
out  my  last  weaving  patent,  August  the  1st  of 
that  year." 

Challenged  by  a  manufacturer  who  came  to 
see  his  machine,  to  render  it  capable  of  weaving 
checks  or  fancy  patterns.  Dr.  Cartwright  ap- 
plied his  mind  to  the  discovery,  and  succeeded 
so  perfectly,  that  when  the  manufacturer  visited 
him  again  some  weeks  after,  the  visitor  declared 
he  was  assisted  by  something  beyond  human 


THE  REV.  EDMUND  CARTWRIGHT,  D.D.    128 

power.  Were  these  discoveries  the  fruit  of 
''accident,"  or  were  they  attributable  to  the 
power  of  mind,  unswervingly  bent  to  attain  its 
object  by  Perseverance  ? 

Numerous  additional  inventions  in  manufac- 
tures and  agricidture  owe  their  origin  to  this 
good,  as  well  as  ingenious,  man,  whose  mind 
was  so  utterly  uncorrupted  by  any  sordid 
passion  that  he  neglected  to  turn  his  disco- 
veries to  any  great  pecuniary  benefit,  even 
when  secured  to  him  by  patent.  The  mer- 
chants and  manufacturers  of  Manchester,  how- 
ever, memorialised  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury 
in  his  behalf,  during  his  latter  years,  and  Par- 
liament made  him  a  grant  of  £10,000.  Dr. 
Cartwright  directed  his  mind  to  the  steam- 
engine,  among  his  other  thoughts,  and  told  his 
son,  many  years  before  the  prophecy  was  rea- 
lised, that,  if  he  lived  to  manhood,  he  would  see 
both  ships  and  land-carriages  moved  by  steam. 
From  seeing  one  of  his  models  of  a  steam- vessel, 
it  is  asserted,  Fulton,  then  a  painter  in  this 
country,  urged  the  idea  of  steam-navigation 
upon  his  countrymen,  on  his  return  to  America, 
imtil  he  saw  it  triumphantly  carried  out. 


124      THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

The  new  and  vast  motive  power  just  men- 
tioned conducts  us  to  another  illustrious  name 
in  the  list  of  the  disciples  of  Perseverance. 
Like  the  names  of  Newton,  Guttemberg,  the 
inventor  of  printing,  and  a  few  others,  the 
name  to  which  we  allude  has  claims  upon  the 
gratitude  of  mankind  which  can  never  be  fully 
rendered  until  the  entire  race  participate  in  the 
superior  civilization  it  is  the  certain  destiny  of 
these  grand  discoveries  to  institute. 


|ms  mm 

was  the  son  of  a  small  merchant  of  Greenock, 
and,  on  account  of  his  weakly  state,  when  a 
child,  was  unable,  at  first,  to  enjoy  the  advan- 
tages of  school  tuition,  and  was,  therefore, 
taught  chiefly  at  home.  When  but  six  years 
old  he  was  frequently  caught  chalking  dia- 
grams and  solving  problems  on  the  hearth; 
and  at  fourteen  he  made  a  rude  electrical 
machine,  with  his  own  hands.  His  aunt,  it  is 
related,  often  chided  him  for  indolence  and 
mischief  when  he  was  found  playing  with  the 


JAMES   WATT.  125 

tea-kettle  on  the  fire,  watching  the  steam  coming 
out  of  the  spout,  and  trying  the  steam's  force  by 
obstructing  its  escape ;  the  might  of  the  vapour- 
ous  element  seeming  even  then  to  have  begun 
to  present  itself,  unavoidably,  to  his  imagina- 
tion and  understanding.  He  grew  to  be  an 
extensive  manufacturer  of  philosophical  toys, 
while  a  boy,  and  used  to  increase  his  pocket- 
money  by  standing  with  them  at  the  college 
gate,  in  Glasgow,  and  vending  them  to  the 
students  as  they  passed  out.  At  eighteen 
years  of  age  his  father  apprenticed  him  to  a 
mathematical  instrument  maker  in  London,  but 
in  little  more  than  a  year  his  weak  health 
rendered  it  necessary  to  send  him  home  to 
Scotland. 

At  twenty-one,  although  he  had  received  so 
little  instruction  in  that  profession,  his  skill 
secured  him  the  appointment  of  mathematical 
instrument  maker  to  the  college  of  Glasgow. 
His  appointment,  however,  was  not  sufficiently 
productive  to  render  it  worth  keeping;  and, 
seven  years  afterwards,  he  began  to  practice  as 
a  general  engineer,  for  which,  diligent  study 
during  this  term  had  fitted  him.     He  was  soon 

M   2 


126      THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

sought  after  for  almost  every  undertaking  of 
public  improvement ;  whether  for  the  making 
of  bridges,  canals,  harbours,  or  any  other  en- 
gineering design  projected  in  Scotland.  But 
the  circumstance  of  a  small  model  of  a  steam- 
engine  being  sent  him  to  repair,  fixed  his  atten- 
tion powerfully  upon  the  element  which  had  so 
often  excited  the  attention  of  his  boyish  under- 
standing. 

Watt  found  this  model  so  imperfect,  although 
it  was  the  most  perfect  then  known,  that  he 
could,  with  difficulty,  get  it  to  work.  The 
more  he  examined  it,  the  more  deeply  he  be- 
came convinced  that  the  properties  of  steam 
had  never  been  understood ;  the  engine  was,  in 
fact,  an  atmospheric  rather  than  a  steam-engine. 
By  laborious  investigation  he  ascertained  that 
the  evaporation  of  water  proceeded  more  or 
less  rapidly  in  proportion  to  the  degree  of  heat 
made  to  enter  it;  that  the  process  of  evapora- 
tion was  quickened  as  a  greater  surface  of  water 
was  exposed  to  heat;  the  quantity  of  coals 
necessary  to  raise  a  certain  weight  of  water 
into  steam;  and  the  degrees  of  heat  at  which 
water  boils  under  diiFerent  pressures.     He  had 


JAMES    WATT.  127 

now  learnt  enough  of  the  nature  of  the  great 
element  he  proposed  to  wield ;  but  it  required 
long  thought,  and  the  most  exhaustless  applica- 
tion of  contrivance  to  give  his  vaporous  giant 
a  fitting  body,  limbs,  joints,  and  sinews,  and  so 
to  adapt  these  as  to  render  them  a  self-regu- 
lating mechanism.  Watt  found  a  coadjutor  in 
the  person  of  Boulton,  of  Birmingham,  who  was 
possessed  of  capital,  and  the  will  to  embark  it ; 
and  he  now  set  to  work  to  perfect  his  discovery, 
and  did  perfect  it ;  thus  revealing  to  man  the 
greatest  instrument  of  power  yet  put  into  his 
possession. 

"  In  the  present  perfect  state  of  the  engine," 
says  Dr.  Arnott,  in  his  "  Elements  of  Physics," 
''  it  appears  a  thing  almost  endowed  with  in- 
telligence. It  regulates  with  perfect  accuracy 
and  uniformity  the  number  of  its  strokes  in  a 
given  time;  counting  or  recording  them,  more- 
over, to  tell  how  much  work  it  has  done,  as  a 
clock  records  the  beats  of  its  pendulum;  it 
regulates  the  quantity  of  steam  admitted  to 
work ;  the  briskness  of  the  fire ;  the  supply  of 
water  to  the  boiler ;  the  supply  of  coals  to  the 
fire ;  it  opens  and  shuts  it  valves  with  absolute 


128      THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

precision  as  to  time  and  manner;  it  oils  its 
joints;  it  takes  out  any  air  which  may  accident- 
ally enter  into  parts  which  should  be  vacuous  ; 
and  when  anything  goes  wrong  which  it  cannot 
itself  rectify,  it  warns  its  attendants  by  ringing 
a  beU ;  yet  with  aU  these  talents  and  qualities, 
and  even  when  exerting  the  power  of  six  hun- 
dred horses,  it  is  obedient  to  the  hand  of  a 
child ;  its  aliment  is  coal,  wood,  charcoal,  or 
other  combustible ;  it  consumes  none  wlule  idle; 
it  never  tires,  and  wants  no  sleep ;  it  is  not  sub- 
ject to  malady  when  originally  weU.  made,  and 
only  refuses  to  work  when  worn  out  with  age  ; 
it  is  equally  active  in  aU  climates,  and  wiU  do 
work  of  any  kind;  it  is  a  water-pumper,  a 
miner,  a  sailor,  a  cotton-spinner,  a  weaver,  a 
blacksmith,  a  miller,  &c.,  &c. ;   and  a  small 
engine,  in  the  character  of  a  steam-pony,  may 
be  seen  dragging  after  it  on  a  railroad  a  hun- 
dred tons   of  merchandize,  or  a  regiment  of 
soldiers,  with  greater  speed   than  that  of  our 
fleetest  coaches.     It  is  the  king  of  machines, 
and  a  permanent  realisation  of  the  genii  of 
Eastern  fable,  whose  supernatural  powers  were 
occasionally  at  the  command  of  man." 


JAMES   WATT.  129 

And  what  was  the  greater  instrument  ?  The 
mind  of  Watt,  whose  powers  were  manifested 
by  the  creation  of  this  grandest  physical  instru- 
ment. Could  such  a  display  of  resources,  such 
amazing  circumspection  of  the  wants  and  needs 
of  his  machine,  and  wisdom  in  the  adaptation  of 
its  members  to  the  perfect  working  of  the 
whole,  have  been  given  forth  from  an  intellect 
untrained,  itself,  to  rule,  uninured,  itself,  to 
toil,  and  to  toil  -with  certitude  for  an  end,  by 
persevering  collection  of  all  that  could  increase 
its  aptitude  to  reach  it  ?  The  estimate  of 
James  "Watt's  character  by  the  eloquent  Lord 
Jeffi'ey,  will  afford  a  weighty  answer. 

"  Independently  of  his  great  attainments  in 
mechanics,  Mr.  Watt  was  an  extraordinary, 
and,  in  many  respects,  a  wonderful  man.  Per- 
haps no  individual  in  his  age  possessed  so  much 
and  such  varied  and  exact  information, — had 
read  so  much,  or  remembered  what  he  had  read 
so  accurately  and  well.  He  had  infinite  quick- 
ness of  apprehension,  a  prodigious  memory, 
and  a  certain  rectifying  and  methodising  power 
of  understanding,  which  extracted  something 
precious  out  of  all  that  was  presented  to  it. 


130     THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

His  stores  of  miscellaneous  knowledge  were 
immense,  and  yet  less  astonishing  than  the 
command  he  had  at  aU  times  over  them.  It 
seemed  as  if  every  subject  that  was  casually 
started  in  conversation  had  been  that  which  he 
had  been  last  occupied  in  studying  and  exhaust- 
ing; such  was  the  copiousness,  the  precision, 
the  admirable  clearness  of  the  information 
which  he  poured  out  upon  it  without  effort 
or  hesitation.  Nor  was  this  promptitude  and 
compass  of  knowledge  confined  in  any  degree 
to  the  studies  connected  with  his  ordinary  pur- 
suits. That  he  should  have  been  minutely  and 
extensively  skilled  in  chemistry  and  the  arts, 
and  in  most  of  the  branches  of  physical  science 
might,  perhaps,  have  been  conjectured ;  but  it 
could  not  have  been  inferred  from  his  usual 
occupations,  and,  probably,  is  not  generally 
known,  that  he  was  curiously  learned  in  many 
branches  of  antiquity,  metaphysics,  medicine, 
and  etymology,  and  perfectly  at  home  in  all 
the  details  of  architecture,  music,  and  law. 
He  was  well  acquainted,  too,  with  most  of  the 
modern  languages,  and  familiar  with  their  most 
recent  literature.     Nor  was  it  at  all  extraordi- 


JAMES    WATT.  181 

nary  to  hear  the  great  mechanician  and  en- 
gineer detailing  and  expounding,  for  hours 
together,  the  metaphysical  theories  of  the  Ger- 
man logicians,  or  criticising  the  measures  or 
the  matter  of  the  German  poetry. 

"  His  astonishing  memory  was  aided,  no 
doubt,  in  a  great  measure,  by  a  stiU  higher  and 
rarer  faculty, — by  his  power  of  digesting  and 
arranging  in  its  proper  place  aU  the  infor- 
mation he  received,  and  of  casting  aside  and 
rejecting,  as  it  were  instinctively,  whatever 
was  worthless  or  immaterial.  Every  concep- 
tion that  was  suggested  to  his  mind  seemed 
instantly  to  take  its  place  among  its  other  rich 
furniture,  and  to  be  condensed  into  the  smallest 
and  most  convenient  form.  He  never  ap- 
peared, therefore,  to  be  at  aU  encumbered  or 
perplexed  with  the  verbiage  of  the  dull  books 
he  perused,  or  the  idle  talk  to  which  he  lis- 
tened, but  to  have  at  once  extracted,  by  a  kind 
of  intellectual  alchemy,  aU  that  was  worthy  of 
attention,  and  to  have  reduced  it  for  his  own 
use  to  its  true  value,  and  to  its  simplest  form. 
And  thus  it  often  happened,  that  a  great  deal 
more  was  learned  from  his  brief  and  vigorous 


13^      THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

account  of  the  theories  and  arguments  of  tedi- 
ous writers  than  an  ordinary  student  could 
have  derived  from  the  most  faithful  study  of 
the  originals,  and  that  errors  and  absurdities 
became  manifest  from  the  mere  clearness  and 
plainness  of  his  statement  of  them,  which  might 
have  deluded  and  perplexed  most  of  his  hear- 
ers without  that  invaluable  assistance." 

Such  was  the  activity,  industry,  discipline^ 
and  perseverance  in  acquirement,  of  the  mind 
which  gave  to  the  world  its  greatest  physical 
transformer, — the  instrument  which  is  changing 
the  entire  civilisation  of  the  world,  "  doing  the 
work  of  multitudes,  overcoming  the  difficulties 
of  depth,  distance,  minuteness,  magnitude,  wind, 
and  tide;  exhibiting  stranger  wonders  than  those 
of  romance  or  magic ;  annihilating  time  and  space ; 
giving  wings  even  to  thought,  and  sending  know- 
ledge like  light  through  the  human  universe ; 
most  mighty,  with  power  that  Watt  knew  not 
of,  and  with  more  than  we  know,  for  futurity. 
The  discovery  of  America,"  says  the  same  elo- 
quent writer,  W.  J.  Fox,  in  his  "  Lectures  to  the 
Working  Classes,"  "was  of  matter  to  be  worked 
upon :  this  is  power  to  work  upon  the  world." 


('OT.I  MHUS.  138 


(£otab«s 

starts  before  the  mind  with,  the  enunciation  of 
the  sentence  just  quoted.  He  whose  indo- 
mitable perseverance  carried  his  mutinous 
sailors  onward—and  onward—across  the  dreary 
Atlantic,  in  a  frail  bark,  until  fidelity  to  his 
own  convictions,  issued  in  the  magnificent  proof 
of  their  verity,  the  discovery  of  the  new  world. 
But  our  space  demands  that  we  pass  to  the 
incomparable  name  which  towers,  alone,  above 
that  of  James  Watt,  in  the  world's  list  of  the 
scientific  benefactors  of  mankind;  and,  perhaps, 


134      THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

above  all  human  names  in  its  peerless  excel- 
lence. 

Bit  Isaat  $tMm, 

it  is  so  well  known  as  scarcely  to  need  repeat- 
ing here,  displayed  his  wondrous  and  incon- 
trollable  tendency  for  scientific  enquiry  in  boy- 
hood. In  him,  too,  as  in  the  minds  of  almost 
all  philosophical  discoverers,  was  evinced  the 
faculty  for  mechanical  contrivance,  as  well  as 
acuteness  for  demonstration.  The  anecdotes  of 
his  bojdsh  invention,  of  his  windmill  with  a 
mouse  for  the  miller,  his  water-clock,  carriage, 
and  sun-dials,  and  of  his  kites  and  paper-lan- 
terns, are  familiar.  His  mother  having  been 
persuaded,  by  an  intelligent  relative,  to  give 
him  up  from  agricultural  cares,  to  which  his 
genius  could  not  be  tied  down,  he  was  sent  to 
Cambridge,  and  entered  Trinity  College  in  his 
eighteenth  year.  He  proceeded,  at  once,  to 
the  study  of  "  Descartes'  Geometry,"  regarding 
^'Euclid's  Elements"  as  containing  self-evident 
truths,  when  he  had  gone  through  the  titles  of 
the  propositions.     Yet,  he  afterwards  regretted 


SIR    ISAAC    NEWTON.  135 

this  neglect  of  the  rigid  method  of  demonstra- 
tion, in  the  outset,  as  a  great  mistake,  and 
wished  he  had  not  attached  himself  so  closely 
to  modes  of  solution  by  algebra.  He  succes- 
sively studied,  and  wrote  commentaries  on, 
"  Wallis's  Arithmetic  of  Infinites,"  "  Saunder- 
son's  Logic,"  and  "  Kepler's  Optics;"  and,  for 
testing  the  doctrines  of  the  latter  science,  bought 
a  prism,  and  made  numerous  experiments  with 
it.  While  but  a  very  young  man.  Dr.  Isaac 
Barrow,  the  Lucasian  Professor  of  Mathematics, 
gathered  hints  of  new  truths  from  his  conver- 
sation ;  and  in  the  publication  of  his  lectures 
on  optics,  a  few  years  after,  the  doctor  acknow- 
ledged his  obligations  to  young  Newton,  and 
characterised  him  very  highly.  A  year  after 
this  publication,  Barrow  resigned  his  chair  in 
favour  of  Newton,  who  had  recently  taken  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts. 

Zeal  to  acquit  himself  weU  in  his  professor- 
ship, a  situation  so  congenial  to  his  mind,  led 
him  to  devote  the  most  profound  attention  to 
the  doctrines  of  light  and  vision.  Realities 
were  what  he  sought,  even  in  the  most  abstract' 
pursuits ;  and  he  expended  considerable  manual 


136      THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PEllSEVERANCE. 

labour  in  constructing  reflecting  telescopes. 
One  of  these  most  valued  relics  of  his  mecha- 
nical toil  is  now  in  the  Kbrary  of  the  Royal 
Society.  The  result  of  his  studies  and  expe- 
riments was  not  fully  known  before  the  publi- 
cation of  his  "  Opticks/'  in  his  6Snd  year ;  but 
it  is  believed  his  entire  discovery  of  the  nature 
of  light  was  made  many  years  before,  being  at 
length  "  put  together  out  of  scattered  papers." 
The  modesty  of  this  great  man  was,  indeed, 
the  most  distinguishing  mark  of  his  intellect. 
Arrogant  satisfaction,  or  pride  of  superior 
genius  never  sullied  his  greatness.  Even  in 
giving  this  scientific  treasure  to  the  world,  he 
says  "  he  designed  to  repeat  most  of  his  obser- 
vations with  more  care  and  exactness,  and  to 
make  some  new  ones  for  determining  the  man- 
ner how  the  rays  of  light  are  bent  in  their  pas- 
sage by  bodies,  for  making  the  fringes  of  colours 
with  the  dark  lines  between  them." 

How  much  are  we  indebted  to  the  patient 
perseverance  of  all  the  true  discoverers  in  sci- 
ence !  This  is  the  quality  of  mind  which  ever 
distinguished  them.  Rashness  and  presump- 
tion, haste  to  place  his  crude  theories  before 


SIR   ISAAC    NEWTON.  137 

the  world,  and  to  gain  assent  to  them  before 
proof,  on  the  other  hand,  are  the  sure  marks  of 
the  empiric  or  pretender.  The  popular  author 
of  "  The  Pursuit  of  Knowledge  under  Difficul- 
ties,'*— a  work  the  young  student  should  carry- 
about  with  him  as  a  never-failing  stimulus  to 
perseverance, — thus  admirably  treats  this  pre- 
eminent characteristic  of  the  mind  of  Newton : — 
**  On  some  occasions  he  was  wont  to  say,  that, 
if  there  was  any  mental  habit  or  endowment  in 
which  he  excelled  the  generality  of  men,  it  was 
that  of  patience  in  the  examination  of  the  facts 
and  phenomena  of  his  subject.  This  was  merely 
another  form  of  that  teachableness  which  con- 
stituted the  character  of  the  man.  He  loved 
truth,  and  wooed  her  with  the  unwearying 
ardour  of  a  lover.  Other  speculators  had  con- 
sulted the  book  of  nature,  principally  for  the 
purpose  of  seeking  in  it  the  defence  of  some 
favourite  theory  ;  partially,  therefore,  and  has- 
tily, as  one  would  consult  a  dictionary.  New- 
ton perused  it  as  a  volume  altogether  worthy  of 
being  studied  for  its  own  sake.  Hence  pro- 
ceeded both  the  patience  with  which  he  traced 
its  characters,  and  the  rich  and  plentiful  disco- 

N^ 


138      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE, 

veries  with  which  the  search  rewarded  him. 
If  he  afterwards  classified  and  systematised  his 
knowledge  like  a  philosopher,  he  had  first,  to 
use  his  own  language,  gathered  it  like  a  child." 

This  transcendent  combination  of  qualities, 
modesty,  patient  investigation  and  indefatigable 
perseverance,  was  still  more  wondrously  shown 
in  his  superlative  discovery  of  the  theory  of 
gravitation,  than  in  his  promulgation  of  the 
laws  of  light  and  vision.  The  anecdote  of  his 
observation  of  the  fall  of  an  apple  from  a  tree, 
while  sitting  in  his  garden,  is  among  the  most 
familiar  of  all  anecdotes  to  general  readers. 
This  incident,  it  was  affirmed  by  his  niece,  as 
well  as  his  friend.  Dr.  Pemberton,  occurred  in 
Newton's  twenty-third  year;  and  it  instantly 
raised  in  him  the  enquiry  whether  the  infinite 
universe  were  not  held  in  order  and  kept  in 
motion  by  the  very  power  which  drew  the  apple 
to  the  earth. 

Galileo  had  already  shown  the  tendency  of 
all  bodies  near  the  earth  to  gravitate  towards 
its  centre,  and  had  calculated  and  fixed  the 
proportions  of  their  speed  in  descent  to  their 
distance   from  the  earth's   centre.      Newton's 


SIR   ISAAC   NEWTON.  189 

general  application  of  Galileo's  rule  to  the 
planets  of  the  solar  system,  led  him  to  regard 
his  conjecture  as  strongly  probable.  He  next 
devoted  his  powers  to  the  consideration  of  its 
verity,  by  examining  the  question  whether  the 
force  of  gravitation  by  which  the  planets  pre- 
served their  orbits  and  motions  round  the  sun, 
would  precisely  account  for  the  moon's  preser- 
vation of  her  orbit  and  motion  round  the  earth. 
But  here  the  precision  of  his  calculations  was 
frustrated  by  the  imperfect  knowledge  then 
existing  as  to  the  real  measurement  of  the  earth 
— the  gravitating  centre  of  the  revolving  moon. 
An  empiric  would  have  trumpeted  his  discovery 
to  the  world,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  this  faulty 
admeasurement  of  the  earth,  by  not  affording  a 
true  calculation  of  her  gravitating  power,  failed 
to  lead  him  to  an  agreement  with  truth.  New- 
ton was  silent  for  long  years,  until  a  degree  of 
the  earth's  latitutc  was  ascertained,  by  actual 
experiment,  to  be  sixty-nine-and-a-half  degrees 
instead  of  sixty ;  he  then  resumed  his  calcula- 
tions, and  their  result  was  that  he  had  probed 
the  grand  secret  of  the  laws  by  which  worlds 
move  in  obedience  to  the  suns  which  are  their 


140      THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

centres.  It  only  remains  to  be  observed,  as  a 
significant  reminder  to  the  young  reader,  that 
— though  he  may  assent  to  the  great  doctrine 
of  Newton,  and  consider  it  to  be  established, 
he  can  never  fully  know  its  mathematical  and 
mechanical  verity,  unless  study  enables  him  to 
read  the  "  Principia," — the  work  in  which  the 
truth  of  gravitation  and  its  laws  are  demon- 
strated. Let  it  be  an  additional  motive  to 
strive  for  the  ability  to  read  such  a  book,  that 
in  having  read  it,  the  student  has  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  greatest  effort  in  abstract 
truth  ever  yet  produced  by  the  human  in- 
tellect. 

The  moral,  as  well  as  the  intellectual  gran- 
deur of  the  life  of  Newton,  would  tempt  us  to 
enlarge,  but  we  must  merely  say,  ere  we  pass  on, 
to  the  youthful  enquirer — read  about  Newton, 
think  about  Newton,  and  the  more  you  know 
of  him,  the  more  will  your  understanding  ho- 
nour him,  your  heart  love  him,  and  your  de- 
sire strengthen  to  approach  him  in  virtue, 
wisdom,  and  usefulness. 


SIR   WILLIAM    HERSCHEL.  141 


Sir  MMm  |trsrfetl, 

Newton's  greatest  successor  in  astronomical 
discovery,  may  claim  an  equality  with  him,  as 
a  true  and  noble  disciple  of  perseverance.  The 
son  of  a  poor  Hanoverian  musician,  he  was 
brought  over  to  England,  with  his  fkther,  in 
the  band  of  the  guards.  The  father  returned 
to  Hanover,  but  young  Herschel  remained, 
and  at  the  age  of  twenty,  began  to  seek  his 
fortune  in  this  country.  After  many  difficid- 
ties,  wanderings  from  place  to  place,  as  a 
teacher  of  music  in  families,  and  a  few  slight 
glimpses  of  favour  from  fortune,  he  obtained 


142       THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

the  office  of  organist  in  the  Octagon  Chapel,  at 
Bath.  The  emoluments  of  this  situation,  with 
his  receipts  from  tuition  of  pupils,  and  other 
engagements,  were  such  that  an  ordinary  mor- 
tal would  have  been  content  "  to  make  himself 
comfortable"  upon  them,  in  worldly  phrase. 
But  ease  and  competence  were  not  the  objects 
of  Herschel's  ambition.  In  the  midst  of  his 
wanderings,  he  had  not  only  striven  to  acquire 
a  sound  knowledge  of  English,  but  of  Italian, 
Latin  and  Greek,  and  had  entered  on  the 
study  of  counterpoint,  in  order  to  make  himself 
a  profound  theorist,  as  well  as  a  performer,  in 
music.  In  order  to  comprehend  the  doctrines 
of  harmonics,  he  found  it  necessary  to  get  some 
acquaintance  with  the  mathematics;  and  this  led 
him  at  once  to  the  line  of  study  for  which  his 
natural  genius  was  best  fitted.  On  his  settle- 
ment at  Bath,  he  applied  himself  with  ardour 
to  these  abstract  enquiries,  and  from  the  mathe- 
matics proceeded  to  astronomy  and  optics. 
Desire  to  view  the  wonders  of  the  heavens  for 
himself,  made  him  eager  to  possess  a  telescope; 
and,  deeming  the  price  of  a  sufficiently  power- 
ful one  more  than  he  could  afford,  he  set  about 


SIR    WILLIAM    HERSCHEL.  143 

making  a  five-feet  reflectx)!*,  and,  after  much 
difficulty,  accomplished  his  task. 

Success  only  stimulated  him  to  bolder  at- 
tempts, and  he  rapidly  constructed  telescopes 
of  seven,  ten  and  twenty-feet  focal  distance. 
Pupils  and  professional  engagements  were  given 
up,  until  he  reduced  his  income  to  a  bare  suffi- 
ciency, in  order  that  he  might  have  more  time 
for  the  sciences  to  which  he  was  now  become 
inseparably  attached.  So  tireless  was  his  per- 
severance in  the  fashioning  of  mirrors  for  his 
telescopes,  that  he  would  sit  to  polish  them  for 
twelve  or  fourteen  hours,  without  intermission ; 
and,  rather  than  take  his  hand  from  the  delicate 
labour,  his  sister  was  requested  to  put  the  little 
food  he  ate  into  his  mouth.  "With  one  of  his 
seven-feet  reflectors — the  most  perfect  instru- 
ment he  had  constructed — after  having  been 
engaged  for  a  year-and-a-half,  at  intervals,  in  a 
regular  survey  of  the  heavens,  he  at  length 
made  the  discovery  of  the  planet  which,  until 
the  very  recent  discovery  of  "Neptune,"  by 
Leverrier  and  Adams,  was  regarded  as  the 
most  distant  member  of  the  solar  system.  The 
Astronomer-Royal,  Dr.  Maskelyne,  to  whom 


144      THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

Herschel  made  known  what  he  had  observed, 
together  with  his  doubts  as  to  the  nature  of  the 
new  celestial  body,  first  affirmed  it  to  be  a 
comet.  In  a  few  months  this  error  was  dissi- 
pated, and  the  grandeur  of  Herschel's  discovery- 
was  acknowledged  by  the  whole  scientific  world. 
King  George  the  Third,  in  whose  honour  he 
had  named  the  new  planet  Georgium  Sidus  (a 
name  which  has  been  very  properly  set  aside 
for  that  of  Uranus),  conferred  upon  him  a  pen- 
sion of  £300  a  year,  that  he  might  be  enabled 
to  give  up  entirely  the  profession  of  music ; 
and  the  son  of  the  poor  Hanoverian  musician 
took  his  station  among  the  first  in  the  highest 
of  the  sciences.  The  order  of  the  knighthood 
was  afterwards  bestowed  upon  him;  but  it 
could  not  add  to  the  splendour  of  the  names  of 
either  Herschel  or  Newton. 

Enquiry  wiU  put  the  young  reader  in  pos- 
session of  a  knowledge  of  many  other  interest- 
ing and  important  discoveries  of  the  persevering 
Herschel.  A  few  pages  must  be  devoted  to  a 
brief  mention  of  others  who  have  benefited 
mankind  by  their  unremitting  labours ;  and 
they  must  be  selected  from  a  list  where  it  is 


REAUMUR.  145 

difficult  to  tell  a  single  name  unmarked  by 
some  peculiar  excellence — so  abundant  in  ex- 
emplars of  meritorious  toil  is  the  vast  muster- 
roll  of  science  and  mechanial  invention. 

may  be  instanced  as  one  of  the  most  industrious 
toilers  for  the  advancement  of  useful  science, 
though  he  does  not  take  rank  with  the  unfolders 
of  sublime  truths.  During  a  life  of  seventy- 
five  years  he  was  incessantly  engaged  in  endea- 
vouring to  add  something  to  the  compass  of 
human  knowledge  and  convenience.  At  one 
time  he  is  found  pursuing  an  investigation  into 
the  mode  of  formation  and  growth  of  shells, 
endeavouring  to  account  for  the  progressive 
motion  of  the  different  kinds  of  testaceous  ani- 
mals ;  anon,  he  publishes  a  "  Natural  History 
of  Cobwebs,"  evincing  a  mind  capable  of  the 
most  minute  and  ingenious  search ;  and  is, 
afterwards  found  showing  the  facility  with 
which  iron  and  steel  may  be  made  magnetic 
by  percussion.  For  revealing  to  his  country- 
men,  the    French,   a   method    of    converting 


146      THE  TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

forged,  or  bar -iron,  into  steel,  of  making  steel 
of  what  quality  they  pleased,  and  of  rendering 
even  cast-iron  ductile,  a  pension  of  twelve 
hundred  livres  yearly  was  settled  upon  him. 
This  allowance^  at  his  death,  was  settled  by  his 
own  request,  on  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  to 
be  applied  to  the  defraying  of  expenses  for 
future  attempts  to  improve  the  arts.  He  also 
made  known  the  useful  secret  of  tinning  plates 
of  iron,  an  article  for  which  the  French,  tiH  his 
time,  had  been  compelled  to  resort  to  Germany. 
Continuing  his  researches  into  natural  science, 
he  showed  the  means  by  which  marine  animals 
attach  themselves  to  solid  bodies ;  discussed  the 
cause  of  the  electric  effect  from  the  stroke  of  a 
torpedo;  displayed  the  proof  that  in  crabs, 
lobsters  and  crayfish,  nature  reproduces  a  lost 
claw ;  set  forth  a  treatise  showing,  by  experi- 
ments, that  the  digestive  process  is  performed 
in  granivorous  birds  by  trituration,  and  in  car- 
nivorous by  solution  ;  and  published  a  system- 
atic "History  of  Insects."  Engaged  at  one 
period  of  life  in  proving,  by  experiment,  that 
the  less  a  cord  is  twisted  the  stronger  it  is — 
that  is,  that  the  best  mode  of  uniting  the  threads 


REAUMUR.  147 

of  a  cord  is  that  which  causes  their  tension  to 
be  equal  in  whatever  direction  the  cord  is 
strained ;  we  find  him,  at  another  period,  dis- 
covering the  art  of  preserving  eggs,  so  that 
they  might  be  kept  fresh  and  fit  for  incubation 
many  years,  and  breeds  of  fowls  propagated  at 
home  or  abroad,  by  the  eggs  being  washed  with 
a  varnish  of  oil,  grease,  or  any  other  substance 
that  would  efiectually  stop  the  pores  of  the 
shell,  and  prevent  the  contents  from  evapo- 
rating. Valuable  secrets  in  the  making  of 
glass  were  also  discovered  by  him  ;  he  devised 
a  method  of  making  porcelain,  and  showed  that 
the  requisite  materials  were  to  be  found  in 
France  in  greater  abundance  than  in  the  East ; 
and  lastly,  he  rendered  enduring  service  to 
science  by  reducing  thermometers  to  a  common 
standard,  which  continental  nations  gratefully 
commemorate  by  still  calling  thermometers  by 
his  name.  A  life  passed  in  mental  occupations 
so  multifarious  as  well  as  useful,  surely  entitles 
Reaumur  to  be  termed  a  true  scholar  of  perse- 
verance. 


o  2 


148      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

by  a  life  of  virtue  and  usefulness^  merits  the 
epithet  to  which  his  birth  by  courtesy  entitled 
him.  He  was  the  youngest  son  of  the  first  Earl 
of  Cork,  and  after  being  educated  at  Eton,  was 
sent  out  to  travel  on  the  continent.  A  resi- 
dence in  Florence  at  the  time  of  Galileo's 
death,  and  the  almost  universal  conversation 
then  caused  by  the  discoveries  of  that  great 
philosopher,  seem  to  have  induced  Boyle's 
first  attention  to  science.  On  returning  to  this 
country  he  very  soon  joined  a  knot  of  scientific 
men,  who  had  begun  to  meet  at  each  other's 
houses,  on  a  certain  day  in  each  week,  for  en- 
quiry and  discussion  into  what  was  then  called 
"  The  New  or  Experimental  Philosophy." 
These  weekly  meetings  eventually  gave  rise 
to  the  Royal  Society  of  London ;  but  part  of 
the  original  members  of  the  little  club,  a  few 
years  after  its  commencement,  removed  to 
Oxford,  and  Boyle,  influenced  by  his  attach- 
ment to  these  philosophic  friends,  in  process 
of  time   took   up   his  residence  in  that  city. 


THE   HONOURABLE    ROBERT    BOYLE.        149 

Their  weekly  meetings  were  held  in  his  house ; 
and  here  he  began  to  prosecute  with  earnestness 
his  researches  into  the  nature  of  air.  By  his 
experiments  and  invention,  the  air-pump  was 
first  brought  into  so  useful  a  form  that  he  may 
be  called  its  discoverer,  though  the  genius  of 
others  has  since  greatly  improved  that  impor- 
tant instrument.  He  also  demonstrated  the 
necessity  of  the  presence  of  air  for  the  support 
of  animal  life,  and  of  combustion ;  showing  not 
only  that  a  flame  is  instantly  extinguished  be- 
neath an  exhausted  receiver,  but  that  even  a 
fish  could  not  live  under  it,  though  immersed 
in  water.  His  demonstration  of  the  expan- 
sibility of  air  was  still  more  important.  Aris- 
totle, three  hundred  years  before  the  Christian 
era,  taught  that  if  air  were  rarefied  till  it  filled 
ten  times  its  usual  space,  it  would  become  fire. 
Boyle  succeeded  in  dilating  a  portion  of  the 
air  of  the  common  atmosphere,  till  it  filled 
nearly  fourteen  thousand  times  its  natural  space. 
His  other  discoveries  were  numerous,  every 
hour  of  his  existence  might  be  said  to  be  devoted 
to  usefulness ;  and  his  wealth  and  station,  so 
far  from  disposing  him  to  ease  and  inertion, 

o  3 


150      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

were  nobly  turned  by  him  into  grand  aids  for 
the  advancement  of  knowledge.  Mr.  Craik, 
the  intelligent  writer  already  quoted,  thus  ad- 
mirably sums  up  his  life  of  effort : — "  From  his 
boyhood  till  his  death  he  may  be  said  to  have 
been  almost  constantly  occupied  in  making 
philosophical  experiments ;  collecting  and  as- 
certaining facts  in  natural  science;  inventing 
or  improving  instruments  for  the  examination 
of  nature ;  maintaining  a  regular  correspond- 
ence with  scientific  men  in  all  parts  of  Europe; 
receiving  the  daily  visits  of  great  numbers  of 
the  learned,  both  of  his  own  and  other  countries ; 
perusing  and  studying  not  only  all  the  new 
works  that  appeared  in  the  large  and  rapidly 
widening  department  of  natural  history  and 
mathematical  and  experimental  physics,  inclu- 
ding medicine,  anatomy,  chemistry,  geography. 
Sec,  but  many  others,  relating  especially  to 
theology  and  oriental  literature;  and,  lastly, 
writing  so  profusely  upon  all  these  subjects, 
that  those  of  his  works  alone  which  have  been 
preserved  and  collected,  independently  of  many 
others  that  are  lost,  fill,  in  one  edition,  six 
large  quarto  volumes.     So  vast  an  amount  of 


THE   HONOURABLE    ROBERT    BOYLE.       151 

literary  performance,  from  a  man  who  was  at 
the  same  time  so  much  of  a  public  character, 
and  gave  so  considerable  a  portion  of  his  time 
to  the  service  of  others,  shows  strikingly  what 
may  be  done  by  industry,  perseverance ,  and 
such  a  method  of  life  as  never  suffers  an  hour 
of  the  day  to  run  to  waste." 

The  lives  of  Copernicus,  Tycho  Brahe,  Gali- 
leo, and  Kepler,  among  astronomers;  of  Napier, 
of  Merchiston,  the  inventor  of  logarithms ;  of 
DoUond  and  Ramsden,  the  improvers  of  optical 
glasses ;  of  Cavendish,  the  discoverer  of  the 
composition  of  water ;  of  Linnaeus  and  Cuvier, 
the  greatest  naturalists;  of  Lavoisier,  Fourcroy, 
Black,  and,  indeed,  a  host  of  modern  chemists ; 
might  be  singly  and  in  order  adduced  as  in- 
spiring lessons  of  perseverance.  The  young 
enquirer,  if  he  have  caught  a  spark  of  zeal 
from  the  ardour  of  the  tireless  minds  we  have 
hastily  endeavoured  to  pourtray,  wiU,  if  he  act 
worthily,  strive  to  make  himself  acquainted 
more  fiilly  with  the  doings  of  these  and  other 
great  men,  and  "  gird  up  the  loins  of  his  mind  " 
to  follow  them  in  their  glorious  path  of  wisdom 
and  beneficence. 


152      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 


Ctajte  t\t  Si^tl]  — Ptt  0f  "§nmm. 


Examples  of  a  successful  pursuit  of  wealth, 
either  from  the  beginnings  of  a  moderate  for- 
tune, or  from  absolute  penury,  are  abundant. 
A  life  devoted  to  the  acquirement  of  money, 
for  its  own  sake,  cannot  be  made  the  subject  of 
moral  eulogy;  it  can  only  be  introduced  among 
the  "  Triumphs  of  Perseverance,"  as  a  proof  of 
the  efficacy  of  that  quality  of  the  mind  to  enable 
the  wealth- winner  to  compass  his  resolves.  It 
by  no  means  follows,  however,  that  a  career 
towards  opulence  is  impelled  by  the  mere  sor- 
did passion  for  gain.  Happily,  among  those 
who  have  started  with  a  moderate  fortune,  pro- 
gressive increase  in  riches  has  often  been  found 
united  with  increasing  purposes  of  the  noblest 


SIR   THOMAS    ORKSHAM.  153 

pliilanthropy  and  public  beneficence ;  while  the 
manly  aim  for  independence  has  equally  distin- 
gidshed  many  who  have  risen  to  wealth  from 
poverty.  A  brief  rehearsal  of  the  biographies 
of  two  persons,  of  widely  different  station  and 
character,  but  whose  names  have  alike  become 
inseparably  connected  with  the  history  of  the 
first  commercial  city  in  the  world,  will  suflSce 
to  illustrate  our  position. 


the  younger  son  of  Sir  Richard,  who  was  a 
knight,  alderman,  sheriff,  and  Lord  Mayor 
of  London,  and  a  prosperous  merchant,  had 
the  twofold  example  set  him  by  his  father,  of 
an  intelligent  pursuit  of  trade,  and  of  public 
spirit  and  munificence.  He  was  sent  to  Cam- 
bridge, distinguished  himself  in  study,  and 
might,  undoubtedly,  have  risen  to  reputation 
in  one  of  the  learned  professions ;  but,  by  his 
father's  wish  he  turned  his  attention  to  busi- 
ness, and  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  Mer- 
cer's'J.]_Company  at  the  age  of  twenty-four. 
Having,  through   his  father's  eminence  as  a 


154      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

merchant,  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  trust  of 
agent  to  King  Edward  the  Sixth  for  taking 
up  money  of  the  merchants  of  Antwerp,  he 
quickly  discerned  the  abuses  under  which  the 
king's  interest  suffered.  He  proposed  methods 
for  preventing  the  Flemish  merchants  from 
extorting  unfair  commissions  and  brokages, 
and  so  turned  the  current  of  advantage  to 
the  king's  favour,  that  the  young  prince  was 
enabled  to  pay  all  the  debts  for  which  his 
father  and  the  Protector — Somerset — had  left 
him  responsible.  During  the  short  reign  of 
Edward,  this  active  and  enterprising  merchant 
made  forty  journeys  from  England  to  Ant- 
werp; and  by  the  application  of  his  genius 
retrieved  English  commerce  from  the  disad- 
vantage into  which  it  had  fallen  by  mismanage- 
ment at  home,  and  the  superior  shrewdness  of 
the  Netherland  merchants.  The  precious 
metals  had  become  scarce  in  our  country,  but 
Gresham  brought  them  back  again;  our  com- 
modities were  low  in  price  and  foreign  ones 
high,  but  he  reversed  their  conditions  of  sale ; 
while  the  king's  credit,  from  being  very  low 
abroad,  was,,  by  Gresham's  skill,  raised  so  high 


SIR   THOMAS    GRESHAM.  165 

that  he  could  have  borrowed  what  sums  he 
pleased.  For  such  services  the  young  and 
acute  negociator  had  a  pension  of  £100  a  year 
appointed  him  for  life,  and  estates  to  the  value 
of  £300  a  year  were  also  conferred  upon  him 
by  the  king. 

At  the  accession  of  Mary,  Gresham  was  dis- 
charged from  his  agency ;  but,  on  his  drawing 
up  a  memorial,  and  its  allegements  being 
proved,  he  was  reinstated.  Queen  Elizabeth 
immediately  re-engaged  him,  at  her  accession, 
and  employed  him  to  provide  and  buy  up  arms 
for  the  national  defence.  She  knighted  him  a 
year  afterwards,  and  he  then  built  himself  the 
mansion  known  by  his  name  in  Bishopsgate 
Street;  and,  tiQ  lately,  occupied  by  the 
"  Gresham  professors." 

His  noblest  public  work  was  performed  soon 
after.  His  father  had  striven  to  move  King 
Henry  the  Eighth  to  build  an  Exchange  for 
the  city  merchants  who  then  met  in  the  open 
air  in  Lombard  Street,  but  could  not.  Sir 
Thomas  Gresham  now  publicly  proposed,  if 
the  citizens  would  purchase  a  piece  of  ground 
large  enough,  and  in  the  proper  place,  to  build 


156       THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

an  Exchange  at  his  own  expense,  with  covered 
walks,  and  all  necessary  conveniences  for  the 
assemblage  of  merchants.  This  was  done ;  the 
site  was  cleared ;  Gresham  himself  laid  the 
foundation  stone ;  and  Queen  Elizabeth,  when 
the  building  was  complete,  "  attended  by  no- 
bility, came  from  Somerset  House,  and  caused 
it,  by  trumpet  and  herald,  to  be  proclaimed  the 
^ Royal  Exchange.'"  This  building,  as  our 
young  readers  know,  was  burnt  down  some 
years  ago,  and  the  present  stately  fabric,  opened 
by  Queen  Victoria,  has  been  erected  on  its 
site. 

About  the  time  that  the  building  of  the  Royal 
Exchange  was  commenced,  Gresham  was  again 
employed  to  take  up  monies  for  the  royal  use 
at  Antwerp.  Experience  had  so  fully  shown 
him  the  evil  of  pursuing  this  system  that  he,  at 
length,  persuaded  the  Queen  to  discontinue  it, 
and  to  borrow  of  her  own  merchants  in  the  City 
of  London.  Yet,  his  views  were  so  much  in 
advance  of  the  contracted  commercial  spirit  of 
that  age,  that  the  London  citizens,  in  their  com- 
mon hall,  blind  to  their  own  interests,  negatived 
his  proposition  when  it  was  first  made  to  them. 


SIR   THOMAS   GRESHAM.  157 

But,  on  more  mature  consideration,  several 
merchants  and  aldermen  raised  £16,000,  and 
lent  it  to  the  Queen  for  six  months,  at  six  per 
cent,  interest ;  and  the  loan  was  prolonged  for 
six  months  more,  at  the  same  interest,  with 
brokage.  This  illustrious  London  citizen,  by 
his  superior  intelligence,  thus  opened  the  way 
for  increasing  others*,  as  well  as  his  own  gains. 
Sir  Thomas  Gresham's  successful  negocia- 
tions  issued  in  so  large  an  increase  of  his  own 
wealth  that  he  purchased  large  estates  in  several 
counties,  and  bought  Osterley  Park,  near  Brent- 
ford, where  he  built  a  large  mansion,  in  which 
he  was  accustomed  to  receive  the  visits  of  Eliza- 
beth. Even  here  the  ideas  of  the  merchant  were 
predominant.  "  The  house,"  says  a  writer  of 
the  period,  "  standeth  in  a  parke,  well  wooded 
and  garnished  with  many  faire  ponds,  which 
affoorded  not  onely  fish  and  fowle,  as  swannes 
and  other  water  fowle,  but  also  great  use  for 
milles,  as  paper  milles,  oyle  milles,  and  com 
milles."  On  his  retirement  to  Osterley  he 
transformed  his  residence  in  Bishopsgate  Street 
into  a  "college,"  for  the  abode  of  seven  bache- 
lor professors,  who  were  to  read  lectures  there 

p 


158      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

on  "  divinity,  law,  physic,  astronomy,  geometry, 
music,  and  rhetoric,"  and  to  have  £50  each  per 
year. 

He  was  the  richest  commoner  in  England, — 
such  were  what  is  usually  termed  "the  substan- 
tial" rewards  of  his  perseverance;  while  his 
name  deserves  lasting  honour  as  the  patron  of 
learning,  and  the  exemplar  of  merchant-benefi- 
cence. He  left,  by  will,  not  only  ample  funds 
for  continuing  his  "professorships,"  but  en- 
dowments for  almshouses,  and  yearly  sums  for 
ten  of  the  City  prisons  and  hospitals. 


the  son  of  a  journeyman  shoemaker,  and  of  a 
weaver's  daughter,  passed  his  early  years  amidst 
circumstances  which  must  have  enduringly  im- 
pressed him  with  the  miseries  of  vice  and 
poverty.  His  father  was  a  selfish  and  habitual 
drunkard,  and  his  mother  frequently  worked 
nineteen  or  twenty  hours  out  of  the  four-and- 
twenty  to  support  her  family.  He  was  the 
eldest  child  of  a  numerous  family,  and  was  put 
two  or  three  years  to  a  dame's  school ;  but  was 


JAMES   LACKINGTON.  159 

less  intent  on  learning  than  on  "  getting  on  in 
the  world,"  even  while  a  boy.  He  heard  a 
pieman  cry  his  wares,  and  soon  proposed  to  a 
baker  to  sell  pics  for  him ;  and  so  successful 
did  young  Lackington  prove  as  a  pie-vendor, 
that  he  heard  the  baker  declare,  a  twelvemonth 


after,  that  he  had  been  the  means  of  extricating 
him  from  embarrassment.  A  boyish  prank  put 
an  end  to  this  engagement;  and,  when  the 
baker  wished  to  renew  it,  Lackington's  father 
insisted  on  placing  him  at  the  stall.     Again, 

p  g 


160      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

however,  his  pedlar  inclinations,  which  in  after 
life  led  him  to  affluence,  rescued  him  from  the 
disagreeable  treatment  he  expected  to  receive 
under  his  father's  rule.  He  heard  a  man  cry 
almanacs  in  the  street,  and  importuned  his 
father  till  he  obtained  leave  to  start  on  the 
same  itinerant  enterprise.  In  this  he  suc- 
ceeded so  well  that  he  deeply  aggrieved  the 
other  vendors,  who,  as  he  tells  us  in  his  very 
whimsical,  but  interesting  biography,  would 
have  "  done  him  a  mischief  had  he  not  pos- 
sessed a  light  pair  of  heels."  Resolute  on  not 
continuing  at  home,  he  persuaded  his  father,  at 
length,  to  bind  him  apprentice  with  a  shoe- 
maker in  a  neighbouring  town,  and  at  fourteen 
years  of  age  sat  down  to  learn  his  trade. 

We  will  not  follow  this  singular  specimen  of 
human  nature,  spoilt  by  want  of  education  and 
by  evil  example,  through  all  the  vagaries  of  his 
youth.  Taking  him  up  at  four-and-twenty, 
after  he  had  experienced  considerable  changes 
in  religious  feeling,  and  gathered  some  smatter- 
ings of  knowledge  from  reading,  we  find  him 
marrying,  and  beginning  the  world  the  next 
morning  with  one  halfpenny.     Yet  he  and  his 


JAMES   LACKINGTON.  161 

wife  set  cheerfully  to  work,  he  teUs  us ;  and  by 
great  industry  and  self  denial,  they  not  only 
earned  a  living,  but  paid  off  a  debt  of  forty 
shillings,  which  was  somewhat  summarily 
claimed  by  a  friend  of  whom  he  had  borrowed 
that  sum.  Trials  very  soon  fell  to  his  lot 
which  tended  to  make  him  deeply  thoughtful. 
His  wife  was  iQ  for  six  months;  and,  at  the 
end  of  that  period,  he  was  compelled  to  remove 
her  from  Bristol  to  Taunton  for  her  health's 
sake.  During  two  years  and  a-half  the  poor 
woman  was  removed  five  times  to  and  from 
Taunton  without  permanent  recovery;  and 
Lackington,  despairing  of  an  amendment  of 
his  circumstances  under  such  discouragements, 
resolved  to  leave  his  native  district.  He  there- 
fore gave  his  wife  all  the  money  he  had,  except 
what  he  thought  would  suffice  to  bring  him  to 
London ;  and,  mounting  a  stage  coach,  reached 
town  with  but  half-a-crown  in  his  pocket.  He 
got  work  the  next  morning,  saved  enough  in  a 
month  to  bring  up  his  wife,  and  she  had  tole- 
rable health,  and  obtained  "binding  work" 
from  his  employer. 

Lackington  was  now  fairly  entered  on  the 

p  S 


162       THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

path  to  prosperity.  His  partner  was  a  pattern 
of  self-denial  and  economy;  they  began  to  save 
money,  bought  clothes,  and  then  household 
farniture,  left  lodgings,  and  had  a  house  of 
their  own.  A  friend,  not  long  after,  proposed 
that  Lackington  should  take  a  little  shop  and 
parlour,  which  were  "  to  let,"  in  Featherstone- 
street.  City  road,  and  commence  master  shoe- 
maker. Lackington  agreed,  but  also  formed 
the  resolution  to  sell  old  books.  With  his  own 
scanty  collection,  a  bagful  of  old  volumes  he 
purchased  for  a  guinea,  and  his  scraps  of  lea- 
ther, altogether  worth  about  £5,  he  accordingly 
commenced  master  tradesman.  He  soon  sold 
off,  and  increased  his  stock  of  books  ;  and  next 
borrowed  £5  of  John  Wesley's  people — "  a  sum 
of  money  kept  on  purpose  to  lend  out  for  three 
months,  without  interest,  to  such  of  their  society 
whose  characters  were  good,  and  who  wanted 
temporary  relief."  Much  to  his  shame  he  tra- 
duces the  character  of  the  philanthropic  Wesley 
and  of  his  brother  religionists,  in  his  "  Confes- 
sions," even  while  acknowledging  that  this 
benevolent  loan  was  "  of  great  service  "  to  him. 
He  afterwards  endeavoured  to  make  the  amende 


JAMES   LACKINGTON.  16S 

honorable  but  the  mode  in  which  it  was  made 
was  as  unadmirable  as  his  ungrateful  offence. 
But  to  return  to  his  narrative. 

"  In  our  new  situation,"  says  he,  "  we  lived 
in  a  very  frugal  manner,  often  dining  on  pota- 
toes, and  quenching  our  thirst  with  water, 
being  determined,  if  possible,  to  make  some 
provision  for  such  dismal  times  as  sickness  and 
shortness  of  work,  which  had  often  been  our 
lot,  and  might  be  again."  In  six  months  he 
became  worth  five-and-twenty  pounds  in  old- 
book  stock,  removed  into  Chiswell-street,  to  a 
more  commodious  shop,  though  the  street,  he 
says,  was  then  (in  1775),  a  duU  street,  gave  up 
shoe-making,  "  turned  his  leather  into  books," 
and  soon  began  to  have  a  great  sale.  Another 
series  of  reverses,  during  which  his  wife  died, 
his  shop  was  closed  while  he  himself  was  pros- 
trate with  fever,  and  was  robbed  by  nurses, 
only  served  to  sharpen  his  intents  and  strengthen 
his  perseverance,  when  he  recovered.  His 
second  marriage,  with  an  intelligent  woman,  he 
found  of  immense  advantage,  since  his  new 
partner  was  a  very  efficient  helpmate  in  the 
book-shop.     Next,  his  firiend  Dennis  became 


164      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

partaker  in  his  business,  and  advanced  a  small 
capital,  by  which  they  "  doubled  stock,"  and 
printed  their  first  catalogue  of  12,000  volumes. 
They  took  £20  the  first  week,  and  Dennis  then 
advanced  £200  more  towards  the  trade ;  but, 
afker  two  years,  Lackington  was  left  once  more 
to  himself,  his  friend  being  weary  of  the  busi- 
ness. A  resolution  not  to  give  credit  gave  him 
great  difficulty,  he  says,  for  at  least  seven  years, 
but  he  carried  his  plan  at  last,  principally  by 
selling  at  very  small  profits.  His  business- 
premises  were  successively  enlarged,  and  his 
sales  likewise,  until  his  trade  and  himself  be- 
came wonders.  At  the  age  of  fifty-two,  he 
went  out  of  business,  leaving  his  cousin  head 
of  the  firm.  He  sold  100,000  volumes  annu- 
ally, during  the  latter  years  of  his  personal 
attention  to  trade,  kept  his  carriage,  purchased 
two  estates,  and  built  himself  a  genteel  house. 
He  once  more  became  a  professor  of  religion, 
on  retiring  from  business,  and  built  several 
chapels.  He  was,  in  the  close  of  life,  bene- 
volent in  visiting  the  sick  and  indigent,  and  in 
relieving  the  distressed. 

"  As  the  first   King  of  Bohemia  kept  his 


JAMES    LACKINGTON.  165 

country  shoes  by  him  to  remind  him  from 
whence  he  was  taken,"  says  the  bookseller,  in 
his  "  Confessions,"  "  so  I  have  put  a  motto  on 
the  doors  of  my  carriage,  constantly  to  remind 
me  to  what  I  am  indebted  for  my  prosperity, 
viz.,  '  Small  profits  do  great  things ; '  and  re- 
flecting on  the  means  by  which  I  have  been 
enabled  to  support  a  carriage,  adds  not  a  little 
to  the  pleasure  of  riding  in  it."  Alluding  to 
the  stories  that  were  rife  respecting  his  success, 
attributing  it  to  his  purchasing  a  "  fortunate 
lottery-ticket,"  or  "finding  bank  notes  in  an 
old  book,"  he  says,  very  emphatically,  "  I  found 
the  whole  that  I  am  possessed  of,  in — small 
profits,  bound  by  industry,  and  clasped  by 
economy" 


166      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 


Chapter  t\t  Stot|— |l]itot|r0psts. 


One  conviction  forms  the  basis  of  all  correct 
admiration  for  the  heroism  and  intrepidity  of 
scientific  discoverers,  the  marvellous  inventions 
of  mechanicians,  the  sublime  enthusiasm  of 
poets,  artists  and  musicians,  the  laborious  de- 
votion of  scholars,  and  even  of  the  intelligent 
industry  of  the  accumulators  of  wealth:  it  is 
that  all  their  efforts  and  achievements  tend,  by 
the  law  of  our  nature,  to  the  amelioration  of 
man's  condition.  In  every  mind  swayed  by 
reflection,  and  not  by  impulse  or  prejudice,  the 
world's  admiration  for  warriors,  is  regarded  as 
mistaken,  because  the  deeds  of  the  soldier  are 
the  infliction  of  suffering  and  destruction, 
spring  from  the  most  evil  passions,  and  serve 


JOHN    HOWARD.  167 

but  to  keep  up  the  real  hindrances  of  civiliza- 
tion and  human  happiness.  Statues  and  co- 
lumns erected  in  honour  of  conquerors,  ex- 
cellent as  they  may  be  for  the  display  of  art, 
serve,  therefore,  in  every  correct  mind,  for 
subjects  of  regretftd  rather  than  encouraging 
and  satisfactory  contemplation.  The  self-sacri- 
ficing enterprises  of  the  philanthropist,  on  the 
contrary,  create  in  every  properly  regulated 
mind,  stiU  purer  admiration,  still  more  pro- 
found and  enduring  esteem,  than  even  the 
noblest  and  grandest  efforts  of  the  children  of 
Mind  and  Imagination.  The  Divine  Exem- 
plar himself,  is  at  the  head  of  their  class ;  and 
they  seem,  of  aU  the  sons  of  men,  most  trans- 
cendently  to  reflect  his  image,  because  their 
deeds  are  direct  acts  of  mercy  and  goodness, 
and  misery  and  suffering  flee  at  their  approach. 
Harbingers  of  the  benign  reign  of  Human 
Brotherhood  which  the  popular  spirit  of  our 
age  devoutly  regards  as  the  eventual  destiny  of 
the  world,  they  wiU  be  venerated,  and  their 
memories  cherished  and  loved,  when  laurelled 
conquerors  are  mentioned  no  more  with  praise, 
or    are    forgotten.      Emulation   is   sometimes 


168 


THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 


termed  a  motive  of  questionable  morality ;  but 
to  emulate  the  high,  and  holy  in  enterprises  of 
self-sacrificing  beneficence  can  never  be  an  un- 
worthy passion;  for  half  the  value  of  good 
man's  life  would  be  lost,  if  his  example  did 
not  serve  to  fill  others  with  such  a  plentitude 
of  love  for  his  goodness,  as  to  impel  them  to 
imitate  him. 

It  is  the  example  of  the  philanthropist,  then, 
that  we  commend,  above  all  other  examples,  to 
the  imitation  of  all  who  are  beginning  life. 
We  would  say, — scorn  indolence,  ignorance, 
and  reckless  imprudence  that  makes  you  de- 
pendent on  other's  effort  instead  of  your  own ; 
but,  more  than  all,  scorn  selfishness  and  a  life 
useless  to  man — your  brother,  cleave  to  know- 
ledge, industry,  and  refinement ;  but,  beyond 
all,  cleave  to  goodness. 

In  a  world  where  so  much  is  wrong, — ^where, 
for  ages,  the  cupidity  of  some,  and  the  igno- 
rance and  improvidence  of  a  greater  number, 
— has  increased  the  power  of  wrong,  it  need 
not  be  said  how  dauntless  must  be  the  soul  of 
perseverance  needed  to  overcome  this  wrong 
by  the  sole  and  only  effectual  efforts  of  gentle- 


JOHN   HOWARD.  169 

ncss  and  goodness.  That  wisdom — deeply  cal- 
culating wisdom — 'not  impulsive  and  indiscrimi- 
nate *  charity,'  as  it  is  falsely  named, — should 
also  lend  its  calm  but  energetic  guidance  to 
him  who  aims  to  assist  in  removing  the 
miseries  of  the  world,  must  be  equally  evident. 
To  understand  to  what  morally  resplendent 
deeds  this  dauntless  spirit  can  conduct,  when 
thus  guided  by  wisdom,  and  armed  with  the 
sole  power  of  gentleness,  we  need  to  fix  our 
observance  but  on  one  name — the  most  wor- 
shipful soldier  of  humanity  our  honoured  land 
has  ever  produced :  the  true  champion  of  per- 
severing goodness. 

Inheriting  a  handsome  competence  from  his 
father,  whom  he  lost  while  young,  went  abroad 
early,  and  in  Italy  acquired  a  taste  for  art.  He 
made  purchases  of  such  specimens  of  the  great 
masters  as  his  means  would  allow,  and  em- 
bellished therewith  his  paternal  seat  of  Card- 
ington,  in  Bedfordshire.  His  first  wife,  who 
had  attended   him  with   the  utmost  kindness 


170      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

during  a  severe  illness,  and  whom,  though 
much  older  than  himself,  he  had  married  from 
a  principle  of  gratitude,  died  within  three 
years  of  their  union ;  and  to  relieve  his  mind 
from  the  melancholy  occasioned  by  her  death, 
he  resolved  on  leaving  England  for  another 
tour.  The  then  recent  earthquake  which  had 
laid  Lisbon  in  ruins,  rendered  Portugal  a  clime 
of  interest  with  him,  and  he  set  sail  for  that 
country.  The  packet,  however,  was  captured 
by  a  French  privateer;  and  he  and  other  pri- 
soners were  carried  into  Brest,  and  placed  in 
the  castle.  They  had  been  kept  forty  hours 
without  food  or  water,  before  entering  the 
filthy  dungeon  into  which  they  were  cast,  and 
it  was  still  a  considerable  time  before  a  joint  of 
mutton  was  thrown  into  the  midst  of  them, 
which,  for  want  of  the  accommodation  even  of 
a  solitary  knife,  they  were  obliged  to  tear  to 
pieces,  and  gnaw  like  dogs.  For  nearly  a 
week,  Howard  and  his  companions  were  com- 
pelled to  lie  on  the  floor  of  this  dungeon,  with 
nothing  but  straw  to  shelter  them  from  its 
noxious  and  unwholesome  damps.  He  was 
then  removed  to  another  town  where  British 


JOHN    HOWARD.  171 

prisoners  were  kept ;  and  though  permitted  to 
reside  in  the  town  on  his  *  parole/  or  word  of 
honour,  he  had  evidence,  he  says,  that  many- 
hundreds  of  his  countrymen  perished  in  their 
imprisonment,  and  that,  at  one  place,  thirty-six 
were  buried  in  a  hole,  in  one  day.  He  was,  at 
length  permitted  to  return  home,  but  it  was 
upon  his  promise  to  go  back  to  France,  if  his 
own  government  should  refuse  to  exchange 
him  for  a  French  naval  officer.  As  he  was 
only  a  private  individual,  it  was  doubtful  whe- 
ther government  would  consent  to  this,  and 
he  desired  his  friends  to  forbear  the  congratu- 
lations with  which  they  welcomed  his  return; 
assuring  them  he  should  perform  his  promise, 
if  government  expressed  a  refusal.  Happily 
the  ncgociation  terminated  favourably,  and 
Howard  felt  himself,  once  more,  at  complete 
freedom  in  his  native  land. 

It  is  to  this  event,  comprising  much  personal 
suffering  for  himself,  and  the  grievous  spec- 
tacle of  so  much  distress  endured  by  his  sick 
and  dying  fellow-countrymen  in  bonds,  that 
the  fii'st  great  emotion  in  the  mind  of  this  ex- 
alted pliilanthropist  must  be  dated.     Yet,  like 

q2 


17^      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

many  deep  thouglits  which  have  resulted  in 
noble  actions,  Howard's  grand  life-thought  lay 
a  long  time  in  the  germ  within  the  recesses  of 
his  reflective  faculty.  He  first  returned  to  his 
Cardington  estate,  and  together  with  his  delight 
in  the  treasures  of  art  occupied  his  mind  with 
meteorological  observations,  which  he  followed 
up  with  such  assiduity  as  to  draw  upon  him- 
self some  notice  from  men  of  science,  and  to  be 
chosen  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society. 

After  his  second  marriage,  he  continued  to 
reside  upon  his  estate  and  to  improve  and 
beautify  it.  The  grounds  were,  indeed,  laid 
out  with  a  degree  of  taste  only  equalled  on  the 
estates  of  the  nobility.  But  it  was  impossible 
for  such  a  nature  as  Howard's  to  be  occupied 
solely  with  a  consideration  of  his  pleasures  and 
comforts.  His  tenantry  were  the  constant  ob- 
jects of  his  care,  and  in  the  improvement  of 
their  habitations  and  modes  of  life,  he  found 
delightful  employment  for  by  far  the  greater 
portion  of  his  time.  In  his  beneficent  plans 
for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the 
poor,  he  was  nobly  assisted  by  the  second 
Mrs.  Howard,  who  was  a  woman  of  exemplary 


JOHN    HOWARD.  173 

and  self-sacrificing  benevolence.  One  act,  alone, 
affords  delightful  proof  of  this.  She  sold  her 
jewels  soon  after  her  marriage,  and  put  the 
money  into  a  purse  called  by  herself  and  her 
husband  *  the  charity-purse,'  from  the  con- 
secration of  its  contents  to  the  relief  of  the 
poor  and  desitute. 

The  death  of  this  excellent  woman,  plunged 
him  again  into  sorrow,  from  which  he,  at  first, 
sought  relief  in  watching  over  the  nurture  of 
the  infant  son  she  had  left  him,  having  breathed 
her  last  soon  after  giving  birth  to  the  child. 
When  his  son  was  old  enough  to  be  trans- 
ferred entirely  to  the  care  of  a  tutor,  Howard 
renewed  his  visits  to  the  Continent.  His  jour- 
nal contains  proof  that  his  mind  was  deeply 
engaged  in  reflection  on  all  he  saw;  but 
neither  yet  does  the  master-thought  of  his  life 
appear  to  have  strengthened  to  such  a  degree, 
as  to  make  itself  very  evident  in  the  workings 
of  his  heart  and  understanding.  His  election 
to  the  office  of  high  sheriff  of  the  county  of 
Bedford,  on  his  return,  seems  to  have  been 
the  leading  occurrence  in  his  life,  judging  by 
the  influence  it  threw  on  the  tone  of  his  think- 

Q  3 


174      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

ings  and  the  character  of  his  acts,  to  the  end 
of  his  mortal  career.  He  was  forty-six  years  of 
age  at  the  time  of  his  election  to  this  office,  intel- 
lectual culture  had  refined  his  character,  and 
much  personal  trial  and  affliction  had  deepened 
his  experience :  the  devotion  of  such  a  man  as 
John  Howard  to  his  great  errand  of  philan- 
thropy, was  not,  therefore,  any  vulgar  and 
merely  impulsive  enthusiasm.  We  have  seen 
that  the  germ  of  his  design  had  lain  for  years 
in  his  mind,  scarcely  fructifying  or  unfolding 
itself,  except  in  the  kindly  form  of  homely 
charity.  The  power  was  now  about  to  be 
breathed  upon  it  which  should  quicken  it  into 
the  mightiest  energy  of  human  goodness. 

He  thus  records  the  grievances  he  now 
began  to  grow  ardent  for  removing :  "  The 
distress  of  prisoners,  of  which  there  are  few 
who  have  not  some  imperfect  idea,  came  more 
immediately  under  my  notice  when  I  was 
sheriff  of  the  county  of  Bedford ;  and  the  cir- 
cumstance which  excited  me  to  activity  in  their 
behalf  was,  the  seeing  some,  who  by  the  ver- 
dict of  juries  were  declared  not  guilty — some, 
on  whom  the  grand  jury  did.  not  find  such  an 


JOHN    HOWARD.  175 

appearance  of  guilt  as  subjected  them  to  trial 
— and  some  whose  prosecutors  did  not  appear 
against  them — after  having  been  confined  for 
months,  dragged  back  to  gaol,  and  locked  up 
again  till  they  could  pay  sundry  fees  to  the 
gaoler,  the  clerk  of  assize,  &c.  In  order  to 
redress  this  hardship,  I  applied  to  the  justices 
of  the  county  for  a  salary  to  the  gaoler  in  lieu 
of  his  fees.  The  bench  were  properly  affected 
with  the  grievance,  and  willing  to  grant  the 
relief  desired;  but  they  wanted  a  precedent 
for  charging  the  county  with  the  expense.  I 
therefore  rode  into  several  neighbouring  coun- 
ties in  search  of  a  precedent;  but  I  soon  learned 
that  the  same  injustice  was  practised  in  them; 
and  looking  into  the  prisons,  I  beheld  scenes  of 
calamity  which  I  grew  daily  more  and  more 
anxious  to  alleviate." — How  free  from  violence 
of  emotion  and  exaggerated  expression  is  his 
statement;  how  calmly,  rationally,  and  thought- 
fully he  commenced  his  glorious  enterprise ! 

He  commences,  soon  after  this,  a  series  of 
journeys  for  the  inspection  of  English  prisons, 
and  visits,  successively,  the  gaols  of  Cambridge, 
Huntingdon,  Northampton,  Leicester,  Notting- 


176      THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

ham,  Derby,  Stafford,  Warwick,  Worcester, 
Gloucester,  Oxford,  and  Buckingham.  In 
many  of  the  gaols  he  found  neither  court-yard, 
water,  beds,  nor  even  straw,  for  the  use  of  the 
prisoners :  no  sewers,  most  miserable  provisions, 
and  those  extremely  scanty :  and  the  whole  of 
the  rooms  gloomy,  filthy,  and  loathsome.  The 
greatest  oppressions  and  cruelties  were  practised 
on  the  wretched  inmates  :  they  were  heavily 
ironed  for  trivial  offences,  and  frequently  con- 
fined in  dungeons  under  ground.  The  Leicester 
gaol  presented  more  inhuman  features  than  any 
other :  the  free  ward  for  debtors  who  could  not 
afibrd  to  pay  for  better  accommodation,  was  a 
long  dungeon  called  a  cellar,  down  seven  steps, 
— damp,  and  having  but  two  windows  in  it, 
the  largest  about  a  foot  square  :  the  rooms  in 
which  the  felons  were  confined  night  and  day, 
were  also  dungeons  from  five  to  seven  steps 
under  ground. 

In  the  course  of  another  tour,  he  visited  the 
gaols  of  Hertford,  Berkshire,  Wiltshire,  Dorset- 
shire, Hampshire,  and  Sussex;  set  out  again 
to  revisit  the  prisons  of  the  Midlands  ;  spent  a 
fortnight  in  viewing  the  gaols  of  London  and 


,     JOHN    HOWARD.  177 

Surrey;  and  then  went  once  more,  on  the 
same  great  errand  of  mercy  into  the  "West 
of  England.  Shortly  after  his  return  he  was 
examined  before  a  Committee  of  the  whole 
House  of  Commons,  gave  full  and  satisfactory 
answers  to  the  questions  proposed  to  him;  and 
was  then  called  before  the  bar  of  the  House,  to 
receive  from  the  Speaker  the  assurance  "  that 
the  House  were  very  sensible  of  the  humanity 
and  zeal  which  had  led  him  to  visit  the  several 
gaols  of  this  kingdom,  and  to  communicate  to 
the  House  the  interesting  observations  he  had 
made  upon  that  subject." 

The  intention  of  the  Legislatm*e  to  proceed 
to  the  correction  of  prison  abuses,  which  the 
noble  philanthropist  might  infer  from  this  ex- 
pression of  thanks,  did  not  cause  him  to  relax 
in  the  pursuit  of  the  high  mission  he  was  now 
so  earnestly  entered  upon.  After  examining, 
thoroughly,  the  shameless  abuses  of  the  Marshal- 
sea,  in  London,  he  proceeded  to  Durham,  from 
thence  through  Northumberland,  Cumberland, 
Westmoreland,  and  Lancashire,  and  inspected 
not  only  the  prisons  in  those  counties,  but,  a 
third  time,  went  through  the  degraded  gaols  of 
the  Midlands.     A  week's  rest,  at  Cardington, 


178      THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   PERSEVIIRANCE. 

and  away  lie  departs  to  visit  the  prisons  in 
Kent,  and  to  examine  all  lie  had  not  yet  en- 
tered in  London.  North  and  South  "Wales,  and 
the  gaols  of  Chester,  and,  again,  Worcester  and 
Oxford,  he  next  surveys;  and  discovers  another 
series  of  subjects  for  the  exertion  of  his  bene- 
volence. 

"  Seeing,"  says  he,  in  his  uniform  and  cha- 
racteristic vein  of  modesty,  "  in  two  or  three 
of  the  county  gaols  some  poor  creatures  whose 
aspect  was  singularly  deplorable,  and  asking 
the  cause  of  it,  I  was  answered,  they  were 
lately  brought  from  the  Bridewells.  This 
started  a  fresh  subject  of  inquiry.  I  resolved 
to  inspect  the  Bridewells;  and  for  that  pur- 
pose, I  travelled  again  into  the  counties  where 
I  had  been ;  and  indeed  into  all  the  rest,  ex- 
amining houses  of  correction  and  city  and  town 
gaols.  I  beheld  in  many  of  them,  as  well  as  in 
county  gaols,  a  complication  of  distress;  but 
my  attention  was  particularly  fixed  by  the 
gaol-fever  and  small-pox,  which  I  saw  pre- 
vailing to  the  destruction  of  multitudes,  not 
only  of  felons  in  their  dungeons,  but  of  debtors 
also."     His  holy   mission  now  comprehended 


JOHN    HOWARD.  179 

for  the  philanthropist  the  enterprise  of  lessen- 
ing the  disease  as  well  as  unjust  and  inhuman 
treatment  of  prisoners. 

The  most  striking  scene  of  wrong  detailed 
in  any  of  his  narratives  is  in  the  account  of 
the  "  Clink"  prison  of  Plymouth,  a  part  of  the 
town-gaol.  This  place  was  seventeen  feet  by 
eight,  and  five  feet  and  a  half  high.  It  was 
utterly  dark,  and  had  no  air  except  what  could 
be  derived  through  an  extremely  small  wicket 
in  the  door.  To  this  wicket,  the  dimensions  of 
which  were  about  seven  inches  by  five,  three 
prisoners  under  sentence  of  transportation  came 
by  turns  to  breathe,  being  confined  in  that 
wretched  hole  for  nearly  two  months.  WHhen 
Howard  visited  this  place,  the  door  had  not 
been  opened  for  five  weeks.  With  consider- 
able difficulty  he  entered,  and  with  deeply 
wounded  feelings  beheld  an  emaciated  human 
being,  the  victim  of  barbarity,  who  had  been 
confined  there  ten  weeks.  This  unfortunate 
creature  who  was  under  sentence  of  transpor- 
tation, declared  to  the  humane  visitor  who  thus 
risked  his  health,  and  was  happy  to  forego 
ease  and  comfort  to  relieve  the  oppressed  suf- 


180      THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

ferer,  that  he  would  rather  have  been  hanged 
than  thrust  into  that  loathsome  dungeon. 

The  electors  of  Bedford,  two  years  after 
Howard  had  held  the  shrievalty  of  their  county, 
urged  him  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  re- 
presentation of  their  borough  in  Parliament. 
He  gave  a  reluctant  consent,  but,  through  un- 
fair dealing  was  unsuccessful.  We  may,  for  a 
moment,  regret  that  the  great  philanthropist 
was  not  permitted  to  introduce  into  the  Legis- 
lature of  England,  measures  for  the  relief  of 
the  oppressed,  suggested  by  his  own  large  sym- 
pathies and  experience;  but  it  was  far  better 
that  he  was  freed  from  the  shackles  of  atten- 
dance on  debates,  and  spared  for  ministration 
not  only  to  the  sufferings  of  the  injured  in 
England,  but  in  Europe. 

He  had  long  purposed  to  give  to  the  world, 
in  a  printed  form,  the  result  of  his  laborious 
investigations  into  the  state  of  prisons  in  this 
country;  but  "  conjecturing,"  he  says,  "  that 
something  useful  to  his  purpose  might  be  col- 
lected abroad,  he  laid  aside  his  papers,  and 
travelled  into  France,  Flanders,  Holland,  and 
Germany."     We  have  omitted  to  state  that  he 


JOHN    HOWARD.  181 

Kad  already  visited  many  of  the  prisons  in  Scot- 
land and  Ireland.  At  Paris,  he  gained  ad- 
mission to  some  of  the  prisons  with  extreme 
difficulty?  but  to  get  access  to  the  state  prisons, 
the  jealousy  of  the  governments  rendered  it  al- 
most impossible,  and  under  any  circumstances 
dangerous.  The  intrepid  heart  of  Howard, 
however,  was  girt  up  to  adventure,  and  he 
even  dared  to  attempt  an  entrance  into  the  in- 
famous Bastille  itself!  "  I  knocked  hard,"  he 
says,  "  at  the  outer  gate,  and  immediately  went 
forward  through  the  guard  to  the  drawbridge 
before  the  entrance  of  the  castle;  but,  while  I 
was  contemplating  this  gloomy  mansion,  an 
officer  came  out  of  the  castle  much  surprised, 
and  I  was  forced  to  retreat  through  the  mute 
guard,  and  thus  regained  that  freedom,  which, 
for  one  locked  up  within  those  walls,  it  would 
be  next  to  impossible  to  obtain."  In  the  space 
of  four  centuries,  from  the  foundation  to  the 
destruction  of  the  Bastille,  it  has  been  ob- 
served, that  Howard  was  the  only  person  ever 
compelled  to  quit  it  with  reluctance. 

By  taking  advantage  of  some  regulations  of 
the  Paris  Parliament,  he  succeeded  in  gaining 

R 


182      THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

admission  to  other  prisons^  and  found  even 
greater  atrocities  committed  there  than  in  the 
very  worst  gaols  in  England.  Flanders  pre- 
sented a  striking  contrast.  "However  rigor- 
ous they  may  be,"  says  he,  speaking  of  the 
regulations  for  the  prisons  of  Brussels,  "  yet 
their  great  care  and  attention  to  their  prisons 
is  worthy  of  commendation:  all  fresh  and  clean, 
no  gaol  distemper;  no  prisoners  ironed;  the 
bread  allowance  far  exceeds  that  of  any  of  our 
gaols;  every  prisoner  here  has  two  pounds  of 
bread  per  day,  soup  once  every  day,  and  on 
Sunday  one  pound  of  meat."  He  notes,  after- 
wards, that  he  "  carefully  visited  some  Prus- 
sian, Austrian,  and  Hessian  gaols,"  and  "  with 
the  utmost  difficulty"  gained  access  to  "  many 
dismal  abodes"  of  prisoners. 

Returning  to  England,  he  travelled  through 
every  county,  repursuing  his  mission,  and  after 
devoting  three  months  to  a  renewed  inspection 
of  the  London  prisons,  again  set  out  for  the 
Continent.  Our  space  will  not  allow  of  a 
record  of  the  numerous  evils  he  chronicles  in 
these  renewed  visits.  The  prisons  of  Switzer- 
land, but  more  than  aU,  of  HoUand,  afforded 


JOHN    HOWARD.  183 

him  a  relief  to  the  vision  of  horrors  he  wit- 
nessed elsewhere.  We  must  find  room  for 
some  judicious  observations  he  makes  on  his 
return  from  this  tour.  "  When  I  formerly- 
made  the  tour  of  Europe,"  are  his  words,  "  I 
seldom  had  occasion  to  envy  foreigners  any- 
thing I  saw  with  respect  to  their  situation 
their  religion,  manners,  or  government.  In 
my  late  journeys  to  view  their  prisons,  I  was 
sometimes  put  to  the  blush  for  my  native 
country.  The  reader  will  scarcely  feel,  from 
my  narration,  the  same  emotions  of  shame  and 
regret,  as  the  comparison  excited  in  me,  on 
beholding  the  diiference  with  my  own  eyes. 
But,  from  the  account  I  have  given  him  of 
foreign  prisons,  he  may  judge  whether  a  de- 
sign for  reforming  our  own  be  merely  vision- 
ary,— whether  idleness,  debauchery,  disease,  and 
famine,  be  the  necessary  attendants  of  a  prison, 
or  only  connected  with  it  in  our  ideas,  for  want 
of  a  more  perfect  knowledge  and  more  enlarged 
views.  I  hope,  too,  that  he  will  do  me  the 
justice  to  think,  that  neither  an  indiscriminate 
admiration  of  every  thing  foreign,  nor  a  fond 
ness  for  censuring  every  thing  at  home,  has 


184      THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

influenced  me  to  adopt  the  language  of  a  pane- 
gyrist in  this  part  of  my  work,  or  that  of  a 
complainant  in  the  rest.  Where  I  have  com- 
mended, I  have  mentioned  my  reasons  for  so 
doing;  and  I  have  dwelt,  perhaps,  more  mi- 
nutely upon  the  management  of  foreign  prisons, 
because  it  was  more  agreeable  to  praise  than 
to  condemn.  Another  motive  induced  me  to 
be  very  particular  in  my  accounts  oi  foreign 
houses  of  correction,  especially  those  of  the 
freest  states.  It  was  to  counteract  a  notion  pre- 
vailing among  us,  that  compelling  prisoners  to 
work,  especially  in  public,  was  inconsistent 
with  the  principles  of  English  liberty;  at  the 
same  time  that  taking  away  the  lives  of  such 
numbers,  either  by  executions,  or  the  diseases 
of  our  prisons,  seems  to  make  little  impression 
upon  us.  Of  such  force  are  custom  and  pre- 
judice in  silencing  the  voice  of  good  sense  and 
humanity.  I  have  only  to  add  that,  fully  sen- 
sible of  the  imperfections  which  must  attend 
the  cursory  survey  of  a  traveller,  it  was  my 
study  to  remedy  that  defect  by  a  constant 
attention  to  the  one  object  of  my  pursuit  alone, 
during  the  whole  of  my  two  last  journeys 
abroad." 


JOHN    HOWARD.  185 

He  did  not  allow  himself  a  single  day's  rest 
on  returning  to  England,  but  immediately  re- 
commenced his  work  here.  He  notes  some 
pleasLQg  improvements,  particularly  in  the  Not- 
tingham gaol,  since  his  last  preceding  visit; 
but  narrates  other  discoveries  of  a  most  revolt- 
ing description.  The  gaol  at  Knaresborough. 
was  in  the  ruined  castle,  and  had  but  two 
rooms  without  a  window.  The  keeper  lived  at 
a  distance,  there  being  no  accommodation  for 
him  in  the  prison.  The  debtors'  gaol  was 
horrible;  it  consisted  of  only  one  room  difficult 
of  access,  had  an  earthen  floor,  no  fire-place, 
and  there  was  a  common-sewer  from  the  town 
running  through  it  uncovered  !  In  this  miser- 
able and  disgusting  hole,  Howard  learned  that 
an  officer  had  been  confined  some  years  before, 
who  took  with  him  his  dog  to  defend  him  from 
vermin:  his  face  was,  however,  much  disfigured 
by  their  attacks,  and  the  dog  was  actually  de- 
stroyed by  them. 

At  length  he  prepared  to  print  his  "  State  of 
the  Prisons  of  England  and  Wales,  with  pre- 
liminary observations,  and  an  Account  of  some 
Foreign  Prisons."     In  this  laborious  and  valu- 

B  3 


186       THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

able  work,  he  was  largely  assisted  by  the  ex- 
cellent Dr.  Aikin,  a  highly  congenial  mind; 
and  it  was  completed  in  a  form  which,  even 
in  a  literary  point  of  view,  makes  it  valuable. 
The  following  very  brief  extract  from  it,  is  full 
of  golden  reflection :  "  Most  gentlemen  who, 
when  they  are  told  of  the  misery  which  our 
prisoners  suffer,  content  themselves  with  say- 
ing, "  Let  them  take  care  to  keep  out,^''  pre- 
faced, perhaps,  with  an  angry  prayer,  seem  not 
duly  sensible  of  the  favour  of  Providence, 
which  distinguishes  them  from  the  sufferers : 
they  do  not  remember  that  we  are  required  to 
imitate  our  gracious  Heavenly  Parent,  who  is 
*'  kind  to  the  unthankful  and  the  evil !  They 
also  forget  the  vicissitudes  of  human  affairs ; 
the  unexpected  changes,  to  which  all  men  are 
liable;  and  that  those  whose  circumstances  are 
affluent,  may,  in  time,  be  reduced  to  indigence, 
and  become  debtors  and  prisoners." 

As  soon  as  his  book  was  published  he  pre- 
sented copies  of  it  to  most  of  the  principal  per- 
sons in  the  kingdom, — thus  devoting  his  wealth, 
in  another  form,  to  the  cause  of  humanity. 
When  it   is  recounted  that  he  had  not  only 


JOHN    HOWARD.  187 

spent  large  sums  in  almost  incessant  travelling, 
(luring  four  years,  but  had  paid  the  prison  fees 
of  numbers  who  could  not  otherwise  have  been 
liberated,  although  their  periods  of  sentence 
had  transpired,  some  idea  may  be  formed  of 
the  heart  that  was  within  this  great  devotee  of 
mercy  and  goodness — the  purest  of  all  wor- 
ships. 

The  spirits  of  all  reflecting  men  were  roused 
by  this  book  :  the  Parliament  passed  an  act  for 
the  better  regulation  of  the  "  hulk"  prisons; 
and  on  Howard's  visiting  the  hulks  and  detect- 
ing the  evasions  practised  by  the  superinten- 
dents, the  government  proceeded  to  rectify  the 
abuses.  Learning  that  government  projected 
further  prison  reforms,  he  again  set  out  for  the 
Continent  to  gain  additional  information  in 
order  to  lay  it  before  the  British  Parliament. 
An  accident,  at  the  Hague,  confined  him  to  his 
room  for  six  weeks,  by  throwing  him  into  an 
inflammatory  fever ;  but  he  was  no  sooner  re- 
covered than  he  proceeded  to  enter  on  his 
work  anew,  by  visiting  the  prison  at  Rotter- 
dam,— departing  thence  through  Osnaburgh 
and  Hanover,  into  Germany,  Prussia,  Bohemia, 


188      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

Austria,  Italy,  Switzerland,  and  back  through 
France,  again  reaching  England.  Not  to  enu- 
merate any  of  his  statements  respecting  his 
prison-visits,  let  us  point  the  young  reader  to 
the  answer  he  gave  to  Prince  Henry  of  Prussia 
who,  in  the  course  of  his  first  conversation  with 
the  earnest  philanthropist,  asked  him  whether 
he  ever  went  to  any  public  place  in  the  even 
ing,  after  the  labours  of  the  day  were  over. 
"  Never,"  he  replied,  "  as  I  derive  more  plea- 
sure from  doing  my  duty,  than  from  any  amuse- 
ment whatever."  What  a  thorough  putting-on 
of  the  great  martyr-spirit  there  was  in  the  life 
of  this  pure-souled  man ! 

Listen,  too,  to  the  evidence  of  his  careful  em- 
ployment of  the  faculty  of  reason,  while  thus 
enthusiastically  devoted  to  the  tenderest  offices 
of  humanity:  "I  have  frequently  been  asked 
what  precautions  I  used,  to  preserve  myself 
from  infection  in  the  prisons  and  hospitals 
which  I  visit.  I  here  answer  once  for  all,  that 
next  to  the  free  goodness  and  mercy  of  the 
Author  of  my  being,  temperance  and  cleanli- 
ness are  my  preservatives.  Trusting  in  Divine 
Providence,  and  being  myself  in  the  way  of  my 


JOHN    HOWARD.  189 

duty,  I  visit  the  most  noxious  cells,  and  while 
thus  employed  *  I  fear  no  evil !  *  I  never  enter 
an  hospital  or  prison  before  breakfast,  and  in 
an  offensive  room  I  seldom  draw  my  breath 
deeply." 

Mark  his  intrepid  championship  of  Truth, 
too,  as  well  as  of  Mercy.  He  was  dining  at 
Vienna,  with  the  English  ambassador  to  the 
Austrian  court,  and  one  of  the  ambassador's 
party,  a  German,  had  been  uttering  some  praises 
of  the  Emperor's  abolition  of  torture.  Howard 
declared  it  was  only  to  establish  a  worse  tor- 
ture, and  instanced  an  Austrian  prison  which, 
he  said,  was  "  as  bad  as  the  black  hole  at  Cal- 
cutta," and  that  prisoners  were  only  taken 
from  it,  when  they  confessed  what  was  laid  to 
their  charge.  "  Hush!"  said  the  English  am- 
bassador (Sir  Robert  Murray  Keith),  "  your 
words  will  be  reported  to  his  Majesty!' 
"  What!"  exclaimed  Howard,  "  shall  my 
tongue  be  tied  from  speaking  truth  by  any  king 
or  emperor  in  the  world?  I  repeat  what  I 
asserted,  and  maintain  its  veracity."  Profound 
silence  ensued,  and  "  every  one  present,"  says 


190      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

Dr.  Brown,  "  admired  the  intrepid  boldness  of 
the  man  of  humanity." 

Another  return  to  England,  another  survey 
of  prisons  here,  and  he  sets  out  on  his  fourth 


continental  tour  of  humanity,  travelling  through 
Denmark,  Sweden,  Russia,  Poland,  and  then, 


JOHN    HOWARD.  191 

again,  Holland  and  Germany.  Another  general 
and  complete  revisitation  of  prisons  in  England 
followed,  and  then  a  fifth  continental  pilgrim- 
age of  goodness,  through  Portugal,  Spain, 
France,  the  Netherlands,  and  Holland.  Diuring 
his  absence  from  England  this  time,  his  friends 
proposed  to  erect  a  monument  to  him  ;  but  he 
was  gloriously  great  in  humility  as  in  truth, 
benevolence,  and  intrepidity.  "  Oh,  why  could 
not  my  friends,"  says  he  in  writing  to  them, 
"  who  know  how  much  I  detest  such  parade, 

have  stopped  such  a  hasty  measure  ? It 

deranges  and  confoimds  aU  my  schemes.  My 
exaltation  is  my  fall — my  misfortune." 

He  summed  up  the  number  of  miles  he  had 
travelled  for  the  reform  of  prisons,  on  his  re- 
turn to  England,  after  his  journey,  and  ano- 
ther re-examination  of  the  prisons  at  home,  and 
found  that  the  total  was  42,033.  Glorious  per- 
severance I  But  he  is  away  again !  having 
found  a  new  object  for  the  yearnings  of  his 
ever  expanding  heart.  He  conceived,  from 
enquiries  of  his  medical  friends,  that  that  most 
dreadiul  scourge  of  man's  race,  the  plague, 
could  be  arrested  in  its  destructive  course.    He 


192       THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    PERSEVERANCE. 

visits  Holland,  France,  Italy,  Malta,  Zante,  the 
Levant,  Turkey,  Venice,  Austria,  Germany, 
and  returns  also  by  Holland  to  England.  The 
narrative  glows  with  interest  in  this  tour — ^but 
the  young  reader, — and  how  can  he  resist  it,  if 
he  have  a  heart  to  love  what  is  most  deserving 
of  love, — must  turn  to  one  of  the  larger  bio- 
graphies of  Howard  for  the  circumstances. 
Alas  !  a  stroke  was  prepared  for  him  on  his 
return.  His  son,  his  darling  son,  had  become 
disobedient,  progressed  fearfully  in  vice,  and 
his  father  found  him  a  raving  maniac  ! 

Howard's  only  refuge  from  this  poignant 
affliction  was  in  the  renewal  of  the  great  Ais- 
sion  of  his  life.  He  again  visited  the  prisons 
of  Ireland  and  Scotland,  and  left  England  to 
renew  his  humane  course  abroad,  but  never  to 
return.  From  Amsterdam  this  tour  extended 
to  Cherson,  in  Russian  Tartary.  Attending  one 
afflicted  with  the  plague  there,  he  fell  ill ;  and, 
in  a  few  days  breathed  his  last.  He  wished  to 
be  buried  where  he  died,  and  without  pomp, 
or  monument :  "  Lay  me  quietly  in  the  earth," 
said  he,  "  place  a  sun-dial  over  my  grave ;  and 
let  me  be  forgotten  ! "     Who  would  not  desire 


JOHN    HOWARD.  193 

at  death,  that  he  had  forgone  every  evanescent 
pleasure  a  life  of  selfishness  could  bring,  to  live 
and  die  like  John  Howard  ? 


€mksm. 

Work, — and  the  true  nobility  of  being  devoted 
to  it,  distinguished  every  exemplar  recorded  in 
our  sketch;  and  no  name  of  eminence  or  ex- 
cellence can  be  selected  in  human  annals,  who 
has  ever  used  the  phrase,  which  can  only  con- 
sole idiots,  that  "  he  is  perfectly  happy,  for 
he  has  nothing  to  do,  and  nothing  to  think 
about ! "  "  Nothing  to  do  ! "  in  a  world  whose 
elements  are,  as  yet,  but  partially  subdued  by 
man,  and  whose  happiness  can  be  augmented  so 
incalculably  by  the  perfecting  of  his  dominion 
over  Nature.  "  Nothing  to  think  about ! "  when 
language,  and  poetry,  and  art,  and  music,  and 
science,  and  invention,  afford  ecstatic  occupa- 
tion for  thought  which  could  not  be  exhausted 
if  a  man's  life  were  even  extended  on  the  earth 
to  a  million  of  years.  "  Nothing  to  do,  and 
nothing  to  think  about,"  while  millions  are 
doing  and  thinking, — for  a  human  creature  to 


194      THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   PERSEVERANCE. 

profess  that  he  derives  pleasure  from  such  a 
state  of  consciousness,  is  to  confess  his  willing- 
ness to  be  fed,  clothed,  and  attended  by  others, 
while  he  is  meanly  and  despicably  indolent 
and  degradingly  dependent. 

Young  reader,  spurn  the  indulgence  of  a 
thought  so  unworthy  of  a  human  being !  Re- 
member, that  happiness,  worth  the  name,  can 
never  be  gained  unless  in  the  discharge  of 
duty,  or  under  the  sense  of  duty  done.  And 
work  is  duty — thy  duty — the  duty  of  aU  man- 
kind. Whatever  may  be  a  man's  situation, 
from  the  lowliest  to  the  highest  he  has  a  work 
to  perform  as  a  bounden  duty.  Such  was 
glorious  Alfred's  conviction  as  a  king :  such 
was  Lackington's  conviction  as  a  tradesman. 
For  every  diversity  of  mind  and  genius  the 
universe  in  which  we  live  affords  work,  and 
the  peculiar  work  for  which  each  mind  is 
filled  becomes  its  bounden  duty,  by  natural 
laws.  "  First  of  all  we  ought  to  do  our  own 
duty — but,  first  of  all,"  were  the  memorable 
death-bed  words  of  Canova;  and  the  convic- 
tion they  expressed  constituted  the  soul-spring 
of  every  illustrious  man's   life.     The   life  of 


CONCLUSION.  195 

Canova — ^was  work :  so  was  the  life  of  Shak- 
spere,  of  Milton,  of  Jones,  of  Johnson,  of 
Handel,  of  Davy,  of  Watt,  of  Newton,  of  aU- 
glorious  Howard.  Their  lives  were  "  Tri- 
umphs of  Perseverance:"  even  their  deaths 
did  did  not  lessen  their  triumphs.  "  Being 
dead,  they  yet  speak."  They  are  ever  present 
with  us  in  their  great  words  and  thoughts,  and 
in  their  great  acts.  Their  spirits  thus  stiU  con- 
join to  purify  and  enlighten  the  world:  they 
are  still  transforming  it,  in  some  senses  more 
effectually  than  if  still  living,  from  ignorance, 
and  vice,  and  wrong  and  suffering,  into  a 
maturing  sphere  of  knowledge  and  might  over 
Nature,  and  justice  and  brotherhood.  Let 
every  earnest  heart  and  mind  be  resolved  on 
treading  in  their  footsteps,  and  aiding  in  the 
realisation  of  the  cheering  trust  that  the  world 
shall  yet  be  a  universally  happy  world;  and 
so  man  reach  that  perfect  consummation  of  the 
*'  Teiumphs  of  Perseverance  ! " 


TBX 


TRIUMPHS   OF  ENTERPRISE. 


8  8 


InWtitta. 


Without  Enterprise  there  would  have  been  no 
civilization,  and  there  would,  now,  be  no  pro- 
gress. To  try — to  attempt — to  pass  beyond  an 
obstacle,  marks  the  civilised  man  as  distin- 
guished from  the  savage.  The  advantage  of 
passing  beyond  a  difficulty  by  a  single  act  of 
trial  has  offered  itself,  in  innumerable  instances, 
to  the  savage ;  but  in  vain.  It  has  passed  him 
by  unobserved,  unheeded.  Nay,  more  :  when 
led  by  the  civilised  man  to  partake  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  higher  life,  the  savage  has  repeat- 
edly returned  to  his  degradation.  Thus  it  has 
often  been  with  the  native  Australian.  A 
governor  of  the  colony,  about  sixty  years  ago, 
by  an  innocent  stratagem,  took  one  of  the 
native  warriors  into  his  possession,  and  strove 
40  reconcile  him  to  the  habits  of  civilised  life. 


200  INTRODUCTION. 

Good  clothes  and  the  best  food  were  given 
him ;  he  was  treated  with  the  utmost  kindness, 
and,  when  brought  to  England,  the  attention  of 
people  of  distinction  was  lavished  upon  him* 
The  Australian,  however.  Was,  at  length,  re- 
landed  in  his  own  country,  when  he  threw 
away  his  clothes  as  burdensome  restraints  upon 
his  limbs,  displayed  his  ancient  appetite  for 
raw  meat,  and  in  all  respects  became  as  rude  as 
if  he  had  never  left  his  native  wilderness* 
Another  trial  was  made  by  a  humane  person, 
who  procured  two  infants— a  boy  and  a  girl ; 
believing  that  such  an  early  beginning  pro- 
mised sure  success.  These  young  Australians 
were  most  carefully  trained,  fed  and  clothed 
after  the  modes  of  civilised  Europe,  and  inured 
to  the  customs  of  our  most  improved  society. 
At  twelve  years  old  they  were  allowed  to  choose 
their  future  life,  when  they  rejected  without 
hesitation  the  enjoyments  of  education,  and  fled 
to  their  people  in  the  back-ground,  to  share 
their  famine,  nakedness  and  cold. 

A  savage  would  perish  in  despair  where  the 
civilised  man  would  readily  discover  the  mode 
of  extricating   himself  from   difficulty.      And 


INTRODUCl'ION.  201 

yet,  in  point  of  physical  strength,  it  might  be 
that  the  savage  was  superior.  Enterprise  is 
thus  clearly  placed  before  the  young  reader  as 
a  quality  of  mind.  He  may  display  it,  without 
being  gifted  with  strong  corporeal  power.  It 
depends  on  thought,  reflection,  calculation  of 
advantage.  Whoever  displays  it,  is  sure  to  be, 
in  some  degree,  regarded  with  attention  by  his 
fellow  men.  It  wins  a  man  the  way  to  public 
notice,  and  often  to  high  reward,  almost  un- 
failingly. But  the  purpose  of  the  ensuing 
pages  is  not  to  place  false  motives  before  the 
mind.  To  display  any  excellence  with  a  view 
expressly  to  notice  and  reward,  and  not  from 
the  wish  to  do  good  or  to  perform  a  duty,  is 
unworthy  of  the  truly  correct  man.  The 
promptings  of  duty  and  beneficence  are  ever- 
more to  be  kept  before  the  mind  as  the  only 
true  guides  to  action. 

In  the  instances  of  Enterprise  presented  in 
this  little  volume,  the  young  reader  will  not 
discover  beneficence  to  have  been  the  invariable 
stimulant  to  action.  Where  the  actor  displays 
a  deficiency  in  the  high  quality  of  mercy,  the 
reader  is  recommended  to  think  and  judge  for 


^02  INTRODUCTION. 

himself.  The  instances  have  been  selected  for 
their  striking  character ;  and  the  reader  must 
class  them  justly.  Let  him  call  courage  by  its 
right  name;  and  when  it  is  not  united  with  ten- 
derness, let  the  act  be  weighed  and  named  at 
its  true  value. 


€\^ttt  tilt  lirst. 


The  word  "Enterprise"  which,  it  has  just  been 
observed,  marks  the  character  of  the  civilised 
man  as  distinguished  firom  the  savage,  might 
also  be  used  with  some  degree  of  strictness  to 
characterise  man  as  distinguished  firom  the 
lower  animals.  Their  instincts  enable  some  of 
them,  as  the  bee  and  the  beaver,  to  perform 
works  of  wondrous  ingenuity;  but  none  of 
them  step  beyond  what  has  been  the  vocation 
of  their  species  since  it  existed.  The  bounds 
of  human  exertion,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
apparently  illimitable.  Its  achievements  in 
one  generation,  though  deemed  wonderful,  are 
outstripped  in  the  next ;  and  the  latest  success- 
ful efforts  of  courage  and  skill  serve  to  give  us 
confidence  that  much,  or  all,  which  yet  baffles 


204:  THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

man's  sagacity  and  power  in  the  realm  of 
nature  shall  be  eventually  subjected  to  him; 
he  is  a  being  of  Enterprise. 

If  endowed  simply  with  bounded  instincts, 
he  might  have  remained  the  wild  inhabitant  of 
the  forest-covert,  or  continued  the  rude  tenant 
of  the  savage  hut ;  his  limitless,  or,  at  least, 
indefinite  and  ever-progressing,  mental  capa- 
city, has  empowered  him  to  overcome  obstacle 
after  obstacle  in  the  way  to  his  increasing 
command  over  Nature;  the  triumphs  of  one 
generation  have  been  handed  down  to  the  next, 
and  the  aggregate  to  those  ages  succeeding; 
and  the  catalogue  of  these  "  Triumphs  of  En- 
terprise" would  now  form  a  library  of  incalcu- 
lable extent,  since  it  would  lead  reflection  into 
every  path  of  the  dominions  of  history  and 
natural  philosophy,  of  science  and  art. 

The  rudest  display  of  this  great  characteristic 
of  man  is  the  assertion  of  his  superiority  to  the 
rest  of  the  animal  world,  and  seems  to  ofier  a 
primary  claim  to  observation.  The  stronger 
and  fiercer  animals  would  be  the  first  enemies 
with  which  man  had  to  struggle.  With  his 
conquest  of  their  strength   and  ferocity,  and 


GENERAL    PUTNAM.  ^5 

subjection  of  some  of  their  tribes  to  his  use  and 
service,  his  empire  must  have  begun.  Had  we 
authentic  records  remaining  of  the  earliest  hu- 
man essays  towards  taming  the  dog,  domestic- 
ating the  cat,  and  training  for  beneficial  use  or 
service  the  goat,  the  sheep,  and  the  ox,  the 
horse  and  the  elephant,  the  camel,  the  llama, 
and  the  rein-deer,  such  a  chronicle  would  be 
filled  with  interest.  Fable,  however,  surrounds 
the  scanty  memorials  that  remain  of  this,  as 
well  of  higher  departments  of  human  discovery 
in  the  primeval  ages.  Abundant  material  exists 
in  ancient  history  for  a  narrative  of  the  more 
exciting  part  of  these  triumphs — the  successful 
display  of  man's  courage  as  opposed  to  the 
mightier  strength  of  the  more  ferocious  ani- 
mals ;  but  the  accounts  of  such  adventures 
in  later  times  are  less  doubtful,  and  a  brief 
recapitulation  of  a  few  of  them  will  serve 
equally  weU  to  introduce  the  ''Triumphs  of 
Enterprise." 

who  signalised  his  courage  in  the  struggles  with 
the  French  on  the  Continent  of  North  America, 


206         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  removed, 
after  the  war,  to  the  State  of  Connecticut.     The 
wolves,  then  very  numerous,  broke  into  his 
sheepfold,   and  killed   seven   fine   sheep    and 
goats,  besides  wounding  many  lambs  and  kids. 
The  chief  havoc  was  committed  by  a  she-wolf, 
which,  with  her  annual  litter  of  whelps,  had 
infested  the  neighbourhood.      The  young  were 
generally  destroyed  by   the   vigilance  of  the 
hunters ;  but  the  mother-wolf  was  too  wary  to 
come  within  gun-shot,  and  upon  being  closely 
pursued,  would  fly  to  the  western  woods,  and 
return  the  next  winter,  with  another  litter  of 
whelps.     This  wolf  at  length  became  such  an 
intolerable  nuisance,  that  Putnam  entered  into 
a  combination  with  five  of  his  neighbours  to 
hunt  alternately  until  they  could  destroy  her. 
Two,  by  rotation,  were  to  be  constantly  in  pur- 
suit.    It  was  known  that  having  lost  the  toes  of 
one  foot  by  a  steel  trap,  she  made  one  track 
shorter  than  the  other.     By  this  peculiarity, 
the  pursuers  recognised  in  a  light  snow  the 
route  of  this  destructive  animal.      Having  fol- 
lowed her  to  Connecticut  river,  and  found  that 
she  had  turned  back  in  a  direct  course  towards 


GENERAL    PUTNAM.  Wt 

Pomfret,  they  immediately  returned,  and  by 
ten  o'clock  the  next  morning  the  bloodhounds 
had  driven  her  into  a  den,  about  three  miles 
from  Putnam's  house.  The  people  soon  col- 
lected with  dogs,  guns,  straw,  fire,  and  sulphur, 
to  attack  the  common  enemy.  "With  these  mate- 
rials, several  unsuccessful  efforts  were  made  to 
force  her  from  her  den.  The  dogs  came  back 
badly  wounded,  and  refused  to  return  to  the 
charge.  The  smoke  of  blazing  straw  had  no  effect ; 
nor  did  the  fames  of  burnt  brimstone,  with  which 
the  cavern  was  filled,  compel  the  wolf  to  quit 
her  retirement.  Wearied  with  such  fruitless 
attempts,  which  had  been  continued  until  ten 
o'clock  at  night,  Putnam  tried  once  more  to 
make  his  dog  enter,  but  in  vain.  He  proposed 
to  his  negro  to  go  down  into  the  cavern,  and 
shoot  the  wolf;  but  the  negro  dared  not. 
Then  it  was  that  Putnam,  declaring  he  would 
not  have  a  coward  in  his  family,  and  angry  at 
the  disappointment,  resolved  himself  to  destroy 
the  ferocious  beast,  or  to  perish  in  the  attempt- 
His  neighbours  strongly  remonstrated  against 
the  perilous  undertaking ;  but  he,  knowing  that 
wild  animals  are  intimidated  by  i^e,  and  having 


THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

provided  several  slips  of  birch  bark,  the  only 
combustible  material  which  he  could  obtain 
that  would  afford  light  in  this  deep  and  dark- 
some cave,  prepared  for  his  descent.  Having 
divested  himself  of  his  coat  and  waistcoat,  and 
fixed  a  rope  round  his  body,  by  which  he  might 
at  a  concerted  signal  be  drawn  out  of  the  cave, 
he  entered,  head-foremost,  with  the  blazing 
torch  in  his  hand. 

The  aperture  of  the  den,  on  the  east  side  of 
a  very  high  ledge  of  rocks,  was  about  two  feet 
square;  thence  it  descended  obliquely  fifteen 
feet ;  then  running  horizontally  about  ten  more 
it  ascended  gradually  sixteen  feet  towards  its 
termination.  The  sides  of  this  subterranean 
cavity  were  composed  of  smooth  and  solid 
rocks,  which  seem  to  have  been  driven  from 
each  other  by  some  earthquake.  The  top  and 
bottom  were  of  stone,  and  the  entrance  in  win- 
ter, being  covered  with  ice,  was  exceedingly 
slippery.  The  cave  was  in  no  place  high 
enough  for  a  man  to  stand  upright,  nor  in  any 
part  more  than  three  feet  wide. 

Having  groped  his  passage  to  the  horizontal 
part  of  the  den,  the  most  terrifying  darkness 


GENERAL  PUTNAM.  £09 

appeared  in  front  of  the  dim  circle  of  light 
afforded  by  his  torch.  "  It  was  silent  as  the 
tomb ;  none  but  monsters  of  the  desert  had 
ever  before  explored  this  solitary  mansion  of 
horror,"  says  the  relator.  Putnam  cautiously 
proceeded  onward ;  came  to  the  ascent,  which 
he  mounted  on  his  hands  and  knees,  and  then 
discovered  the  glaring  eyeballs  of  the  wolf, 
which  was  sitting  at  the  extremity  of  the 
cavern.  Startled  at  the  sight  of  the  fire,  she 
gnashed  her  teeth,  and  gave  a  suUen  growl. 
As  soon  as  he  had  made  the  discovery,  he  gave 
the  signal  for  pulling  him  out  of  the  cavern. 
The  people  at  the  mouth  of  the  den,  who  had 
listened  with  painful  anxiety,  hearing  the 
growling  of  the  wolf,  and  supposing  their 
friend  to  be  in  danger,  drew  him  forth  with 
such  quickness,  that  his  shirt  was  stripped  over 
his  head,  and  his  body  much  lacerated.  After 
he  had  adjusted  his  clothes,  and  loaded  his  gun 
with  nine  buck  shot,  with  a  torch  in  one  hand 
and  his  musket  in  the  other,  he  descended  a 
second  time.  He  approached  the  wolf  nearer 
than  before.  She  assumed  a  still  more  fierce 
and  teiTible  appearance,  howling,  rolling  her 

T  3 


210         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

eyes,  and  gnashing  her  teeth.  At  length, 
dropping  her  head  between  her  legs,  she 
prepared  to  spring  upon  him.  At  this  critical 
moment  he  levelled  his  piece,  and  shot  her  in 
the  head.  Stunned  with  the  shock,  and  nearly 
suffocated  with  the  smoke,  he  immediately 
found  himself  drawn  out  of  the  cave.  Having 
refreshed  himself,  and  permitted  the  smoke  to 
clear,  he  entered  the  cave  a  third  time,  when 
he  found  the  wolf  was  dead ;  he  took  hold  of 
her  ears,  and  making  the  necessary  signal,  the 
people  above,  with  no  small  exultation,  drew 
the  wolf  and  her  conqueror  both  out  together. 
From  among  the  numerous  records  of  suc- 
cessful encounter  with  tigers,  let  us  select 
that  of 

which  occurred  while  the  British  army  was 
lying  at  Agoada,  near  Goa,  in  1809.  A  report 
was  one  morning  brought  to  the  cantonments, 
that  a  very  large  tiger  had  been  seen  on  the 
rocks  near  the  sea.  About  nine  o'clock  a 
number  of  horses  and  men  assembled  at  the 


LIEUT.    EVAN    DAVIE8.  211 

spot  where  it  wa»  said  to  have  been  seen, 
when,  after  some  search,  the  animal  was  dis- 
covered to  be  in  the  recess  of  an  immense  rock ; 
dogs  were  sent  in,  in  the  hope  of  starting  him, 
but  without  effect,  having  returned  with  seve- 
ral wounds.  Finding  it  impossible  to  dislodge 
the  animal  by  such  means,  Lieut.  Davics,  of  the 
7th  regiment,  attempted  to  enter  the  den,  but 
was  obliged  to  return,  finding  the  passage 
extremely  narrow  and  dark.  He  attempted 
it,  however,  a  second  time,  with  a  pick-axe 
in  his  hand,  with  which  he  removed  some 
obstructions  that  were  in  the  way.  Having 
proceeded  a  few  yards,  he  heard  a  noise,  which 
he  conceived  to  be  that  of  the  animal.  He 
then  returned,  and  communicated  with  Lieut. 
Threw,  of  the  Artillery,  who  also  went  in  the 
same  distance,  and  was  of  a  similar  opinion. 
What  course  to  pursue  was  doubtful.  Some 
proposed  to  blow  up  the  rock;  others,  to  smoke 
the  animal  out.  At  length,  a  port-fire  was  tied 
to  the  end  of  a  bamboo,  and  introduced  into  a 
small  crevice  which  led  towards  the  den. 
Lieut.  Davies  went,  on  hands  and  knees,  down 
the  narrow  passage  which  led  to  it ;  and,  by 


212         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE, 

the  light  of  his  torch,  he  was  enabled  to  dis- 
cover the  animal.  Having  returned,  he  said 
he  could  kill  him  with  a  pistol ;  which,  being 
procured,  he  again  entered  the  cave  and  fired, 
but  without  success,  owing  to  the  awkward 
situation  in  which  he  was  placed,  having  only 
his  left  hand  at  liberty.  He  next  went  with  a 
musket  and  bayonet,  and  wounded  the  tiger  in 
the  loins;  but  he  was  obliged  to  retreat  as 
quickly  as  the  narrow  passage  would  allow,  the 
tiger  having  rushed  forward,  and  forced  the 
musket  back  towards  the  mouth  of  the  den. 
Lieut.  Davies  next  procured  a  rifle,  with  which 
he  again  forced  his  way  into  the  cave,  and 
taking  deliberate  aim  at  the  tiger's  head,  fired, 
and  put  an  end  to  its  existence.  He  afterwards 
tied  a  strong  rope  round  the  neck  of  the  tiger, 
by  which  it  was  dragged  out,  to  the  no  small 
satisfaction  of  a  numerous  crowd  of  spectators. 
The  animal  measured  seven  feet  in  length. 

Combats  with  wild  elephants  are  still  more 
dangerous  than  with  the  tiger.  From  the  fol- 
lowing account  given  by  a  sojourner  in  India, 
the  extreme  hazard  attending  such  enterprizes 
will  be  seen,  while  a  reflection  can  scarcely  fail 


LIEUT.    EVAN    DAVIES.  218 

to  arise  on  the  wondrous  superiority  of  man's 
sagacity  which,  has  enabled  him  to  reduce  this 
mightiest  of  land  animals  to  docile  servitude. 

"  We  had  intelligence,"  ,  says  the  narrator, 
*'  of  an  inmiense  wild  elephant  being  in  a  large 
grass  swamp  within  five  miles  of  us.  He  had 
inhabited  the  swamp  for  years,  and  was  the 
terror  of  the  surrounding  villagers,  many  of 
whom  he  had  killed.  He  had  only  one  tusk ; 
and  there  was  not  a  village  for  many  miles 
round  that  did  not  know  the  *  Burrah  ek  durt 
ke  Hathee,'  or  the  large  one-toothed  elephant ; 
and  one  of  our  party  had  the  year  before  been 
charged,  and  his  elephant  put  to  the  right-about 
by  this  famous  fellow.  We  determined  to  go 
in  pursuit  of  him;  and,  accordingly,  on  the 
third  day  after  our  arrival,  started  in  the  morn- 
ing, mustering,  between  private  and  govern- 
ment elephants,  thirty-two,  but  seven  of  them 
only  "vvith  sportsmen  on  their  backs.  As  we 
knew  that  in  the  event  of  the  wild  one  charging, 
he  would  probably  turn  against  the  male  ele- 
phants, the  drivers  of  two  or  three  of  the  largest 
were  armed  with  spears.  On  our  way  to  the 
swamp  we  shot  a  great  number  of  different 


214  THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

sorts  of  game  that  got  up  before  the  line  of 
elephants,  and  had  hardly  entered  the  swamp, 
when,  in  consequence  of  one  of  the  party  firing 
at  a  partridge,  we  saw  the  great  object  of  our 
expedition.  The  wild  elephant  got  up  out  of 
some  long  grass,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  before  us,  when  he  stood  staring  at  us, 
and  flapping  his  huge  ears.  We  immediately 
made  a  line  of  the  elephants  with  the  sportsmen 
in  the  centre,  and  went  straight  up  to  him, 
until  within  a  hundred  and  thirty  yards;  when, 
fearing  he  was  going  to  turn  from  us,  all  the 
party  gave  him  a  volley,  some  of  us  firing  two, 
three,  and  four  barrels.  He  then  turned  round, 
and  made  for  the  middle  of  the  swamp.  The 
chase  now  commenced,  and  after  following  him 
upwards  of  a  mile,  with  our  elephants  up  to 
their  bellies  in  mud,  we  succeeded  in  turning 
him  to  the  edge  of  the  swamp,  where  he  allowed 
us  to  get  within  eighty  yards  of  him,  when  we 
gave  him  another  volley  in  his  full  front ;  on 
which  he  made  a  grand  charge  at  us,  but  for- 
tunately only  grazed  one  of  the  pad  elephants 
He  then  made  again  for  the  middle  of  the 
swamp,  throwing  up  blood  and  water  from  his 


LIEUT.    EVAN    DAVIES.  215 

trunk,  and  making  a  terrible  noise,  which 
clearly  showed  that  he  had  been  severely 
wounded.  We  followed  him,  and  were  obliged 
to  swim  our  elephants  through  a  piece  of  deep 
stagnant  water,  occasionally  giving  shot ;  when 
making  a  stop  in  some  very  high  grass,  he 
allowed  us  again  to  come  within  sixty  yards, 
and  got  another  volley,  on  which  he  made  a 
second  charge  more  furious  than  the  first ;  but 
was  prevented  making  it  good  by  some  shots 
fired  when  very  close  to  us,  which  stunned  and 
fortunately  turned  him.  He  then  made  for  the 
edge  of  the  swamp,  again  swimming  a  piece  of 
water,  through  which  we  followed  with  con- 
siderable difficulty,  in  consequence  of  our  pads 
and  howdahs  having  become  much  heavier 
from  the  soaking  they  had  got  twice  before. 
We  were  up  to  the  middle  in  the  howdahs,  and 
one  of  the  elephants  fairly  turned  over,  and 
threw  the  rider  and  his  guns  into  the  water. 
He  was  taken  ofi*  by  one  of  the  pad  elephants^ 
but  his  three  guns  went  to  the  bottom.  This 
accident  took  up  some  time,  during  which  the 
wild  elephant  had  made  his  way  to  the  edge  of 
the  swamp,  and  stood  perfectly  still,  looking  at 


216         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

US,  and  trumpeting  with  his  trunk.  As  soon 
as  we  got  all  to  rights,  we  again  advanced  with 
the  elephants  in  the  form  of  a  crescent,  in  the 
full  expectation  of  a  desperate  charge;  nor 
were  we  mistaken.  The  animal  now  allowed 
us  to  come  within  forty  yards  of  him,  when  we 
took  a  very  deliberate  aim  at  his  head,  and,  on 
receiving  this  fire,  he  made  a  most  furious 
charge ;  in  the  act  of  which,  and  when  within 
ten  yards  of  some  of  us,  he  received  his  mortal 
wound,  and  fell  dead  as  a  stone.  His  death- 
wound,  on  examination,  proved  to  be  from  a 
small  ball  over  the  left  eye ;  for  this  was  the 
only  one  of  thirty-one  that  he  had  received  in 
his  head  which  was  found  to  have  entered  the 
brain.  When  down  he  measured  in  height 
twelve  feet  four  inches ;  in  length,  from  the 
root  of  the  tail  to  the  top  of  the  head,  sixteen 
feet;  and  ten  feet  round  the  neck.  He  had 
upwards  of  eighty  balls  in  his  head  and  body. 
His  only  remaining  tusk,  when  taken  out, 
weighed  thirty-six  pounds,  and  when  com- 
pared with  the  tusks  of  tame  elephants  was 
considered  small  for  the  size  of  the  animal. 
After  he  fell  a  number  of  villagers  came  about 


WHALE   FISHERIES.  217 

US,  and  were  rejoiced  at  the  death  of  their 
formidable  enemy,  and  assiired  us,  that  during* 
the  last  four  or  five  years,  he  had  killed  nearly 
fifty  men.  Indeed,  the  knowledge  of  the  mis- 
chief he  had  occasioned  was  the  only  thing 
which  could  reconcile  us  to  the  death  of  so 
noble  an  animal." 

Exciting  as  such  accounts  of  contest  with 
powerful  land  animals  are,  they  yield  in  depth 
of  interest  to  the  records  of  the  whale  fishery. 
The  potent  combination  of  human  courage  and 
intelligence  is  so  fiilly  manifested  by  an  excel- 
lent description  of  these  daring,  but  well  or- 
dered, enterprises,  contained  in  one  of  the 
volumes  of  the  Edinburgh  Cabinet  Library, 
that  we  present  it  to  the  young  reader,  almost 
entire. 

"  As  soon  as  they  have  arrived  in  those  seas 
which  are  the  haunt  of  the  whale,  the  crew 
must  be  every  moment  on  the  alert,  keeping 
w^atch  day  and  night.  The  seven  boats  are 
kept  hanging  by  the  sides  of  the  ship,  ready  to 
be  launched  in  a  few  minutes ;  and,  where  the 
state  of  the  sea  admits,  one  of  them  is  usually 
manned  and   afloat.       These   boats   are   from 

u 


218         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

twenty-five  to  twenty-eight  feet  long,  about 
five  and  a-half  feet  broad,  and  constructed 
with  a  special  view  to  lightness,  buoyancy,  and 
easy  steerage.  The  captain,  or  some  principal 
officer,  seated  above,  surveys  the  waters  to  a 
great  distance,  and  the  instant  he  sees  the  back 
of  the  huge  animal  which  they  seek  to  attack 
emerging  from  the  waves,  gives  notice  to  the 
watch  who  are  stationed  on  deck;  part  of  whom 
leap  into  a  boat,  which  is  instantly  lowered 
down,  and  followed  by  a  second  if  the  fish  be  a 
large  one.  Each  of  the  boats  has  a  harpooner, 
and  one  or  two  subordinate  officers,  and  is  pro- 
vided with  an  immense  quantity  of  rope  coiled 
together,  and  stowed  in  different  quarters  of  it, 
the  several  parts  being  spliced  together,  so  as 
to  form  a  continued  line,  usually  exceeding 
four  thousand  feet  in  length.  To  the  end  is 
attached  the  harpoon,  an  instrument  formed, 
not  to  pierce  and  kill  the  animal,  but,  by  enter- 
ing and  remaining  fixed  in  the  body,  to  pre- 
vent its  escape.  One  of  the  boats  is  now 
rowed  towards  the  whale  in  the  deepest  si- 
lence, cautiously  avoiding  to  give  any  alarm, 
of  which  he  is  very  susceptible.      Sometimes  a 


WHALE   FISHERIES.  219 

circuitous  route  is  adopted  in  order  to  attack 
him  from  behind.  Having  approached  as  near 
as  is  consistent  with  safety,  the  harpooner  darts 
his  instrument  into  the  back  of  the  monster. 
This  is  a  critical  moment;  for,  when  this 
mighty  animal  feels  himself  struck,  he  often 
throws  himself  into  violent  convulsive  move- 
ments, vibrating  in  the  air  his  tremendous  tail, 
one  lash  of  which  is  sufficient  to  dash  a  boat  in 
pieces.  More  commonly,  however,  he  plunges 
with  rapid  flight  into  the  depths  of  the  sea,  or 
beneath  the  thickest  fields  and  mountains  of 
ice.  While  he  is  thus  moving  at  the  rate 
usually  of  eight  or  ten  miles  an  hour,  the 
utmost  diligence  must  be  used  that  the  line  to 
which  the  harpoon  is  attached  may  run  off 
smoothly  and  readily  along  with  him.  Should 
it  be  entangled  for  a  moment,  the  stren^h  of 
the  whale  is  such  that  he  would  draw  the  boat 
and  crew  after  him  under  the  waves.  The 
first  boat  ought  to  be  quickly  followed  up  by  a 
second,  to  supply  more  line  when  the  first  is 
run  out,  which  often  takes  place  in  eight  or  ten 
minutes.  When  the  crew  of  a  boat  see  the 
line  in  danger  of  being  all  run  off,  they  hold 


THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   ENTERPRISE. 

up  one^  two,  or  tliree  oars,  to  intimate  their 
pressing  need  of  a  supply.  At  the  same  time 
they  turn  the  rope  once  or  twice  round  a  kind 
of  post  called  the  bollard,  by  which  the  motion 
of  the  line  and  the  career  of  the  animal  are 
somewhat  retarded.  This,  however,  is  a  deli- 
cate operation,  which  brings  the  side  of  the 
boat  down  to  the  very  edge  of  the  water,  and 
if  the  rope  be  drawn  at  all  too  tight,  may  sink 
it  altogether.  While  the  line  is  rolling  round 
the  bollard,  the  friction  is  so  violent  that  the 
harpooner  is  enveloped  in  smoke,  and  water 
must  be  constantly  poured  on  to  prevent  it 
catching  fire.  When,  after  all,  no  aid  arrives, 
and  the  crew  find  that  the  line  must  run  out, 
they  have  only  one  resource, — they  cut  it, 
losing  thereby  not  only  the  whale,  but  the 
harpoon,  and  all  the  ropes  of  the  boat. 

"When  the  whale  is  first  struck,  and  plunges 
into  the  waves,  the  boat's  crew  elevate  a  flag  as 
a  signal  to  the  watch  on  deck,  who  give  the 
alarm  to  those  asleep  below  by  stamping  vio- 
lently on  the  deck,  and  crying  aloud,  ^  a  fall ! 
a  fall!'  On  this  notice  they  do  not  allow 
themselves  time  to  dress,  but  rush  out  in  their 


WHALE  FISHERIES.  ^l 

slccping-shirts  or  drawers  into  an  atmosphere, 
the  temperature  of  which  is  often  below  zero, 
carrying  along  with  them  their  clothing  in  a 
bundle,  and  trusting  to  make  their  toilette  in 
the  interval  of  manning  and  pushing  off  the 
boats.  Such  is  the  tumult  at  this  moment, 
that  young  mariners  have  been  known  to  raise 
cries  of  fear,  thinking  the  ship  was  going 
down." 

The  period  during  which  a  wounded  whale 
remains  under  water  is  various,  but  is  averaged 
by  Mr.  Scoresby  at  about  half-an-hour.  Then, 
pressed  by  the  necessity  of  respiration,  he 
appears  above,  often  considerably  distant  from 
the  spot  where  he  was  harpooned,  and  in  a 
state  of  great  exhaustion,  which  the  same  in- 
genious writer  ascribes  to  the  severe  pressure 
that  he  has  endured  when  placed  beneath  a 
column  of  water  seven  hundred  or  eight  hun- 
dred fathoms  deep.  All  the  boats  have  mean- 
time been  spreading  themselves  in  various  di- 
rections, that  one  at  least  may  be  within  a 
start,  as  it  is  called,  or  about  two  hundred 
yards  at  the  point  of  his  rising,  at  which 
distance  they  can  easily  pierce  him  with  one 

u  2 


222         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

or  two  more  harpoons  before  he  again  descends, 
as  he  usually  does  for  a  few  minutes.  On  his 
reappearance  a  general  attack  is  made  with 
lances,  which  are  struck  as  deep  as  possible,  to 
reach  and  penetrate  the  vital  parts.  Blood, 
mixed  with  oil,  streams  copiously  from  his 
wounds  and  from  his  blow-holes,  dyeing  the  sea 
to  a  great  distance,  and  sprinkling,  and  some- 
times drenching  the  boats  and  crews.  The 
animal  now  becomes  more  and  more  exhausted; 
but  at  the  approach  of  his  death  he  often  makes 
a  convulsive  and  energetic  struggle,  rearing  his 
tail  high  in  the  air,  and  whirling  it  with  a  noise 
which  is  heard  at  the  distance  of  several  miles. 
At  length,  quite  overpowered  and  exhausted,  he 
lays  himself  on  his  side  or  back,  and  expires. 
The  flag  is  then  taken  down,  and  three  loud 
huzzas  raised  from  the  surrounding  boats.  No 
time  is  lost  in  piercing  the  tail  with  tw^o  holes, 
through  which  ropes  are  passed,  which,  being 
fastened  to  the  boats,  drag  the  fish  to  the  vessel 
amid  shouts  of  joy. 

One  reflection  must  arise  in  the  mind  of  the 
young  reader — if  he  have  begun  to  reflect — on 
reading  this  brief  description  of  whale-fishery 


WHALE   FISHERIES.  223 

enterprise.  Man's  attack  upon  the  whale  is 
not  an  act  of  self-defence ;  is  it,  then,  justifi- 
able ?  We  cannot  go  into  the  whole  argument 
which  would  present  itself  when  such  an  im- 
portant question  is  asked.  We  leave  the  reader 
to  grapple  with  the  diificulty,  as  a  healthy  exer- 
cise for  his  understanding :  only  reminding  him 
that  the  conveniences  of  civilisation,  in  the  de- 
gree hitherto  reached,  would  be  immensely  cur- 
tailed if  Man  were  not  allowed  to  sacrifice,  for 
his  own  use,  the  lives  of  animals  which,  either 
by  their  gentle  nature,  or  the  localities  they 
occupy,  are  without  the  range  of  the  noxious 
and  dangerous  class. 


224:         tHE  TRIUMPHS  OF  EI^TEItPlllSE. 


€\^kx  tilt  Btrnl^* 


Equally  early  with  their  contests  with  wild 
animals,  primeval  men  would  have  had  to  en- 
counter peril  and  to  overcome  difficulty  in  the 
fulfilment  of  the  natural  desire  possessed  by 
some  of  them  to  visit  new  regions  of  the  earth* 
Even  if  the  theory  be  true,  which  is  supported 
by  hundreds  of  learned  Volumes,  that  man's 
first  habitation  Was  in  the  most  agreeable  and 
fertile  portion  of  Asia,  by  the  banks  of  the 
Tigris  and  Euphrates,  the  native  characteristic 
of  enterprise  would  impel  some  among  the  first 
men  to  go  in  quest  of  new  homes,  or  on  jour- 
neys of  exploration  and  adventure.  And,  as 
the  human  family  increased,  removal  for  the 
youthful  branches  would  be  absolutely  neces'- 
^ary^ 


TRAVELLERS.  226 

To  these  primal  travellers,  the  perils  of  un- 
known adventure  and  the  pressure  of  want, 
would  most  probably  have  proved  excitements 
too  absorbing  to  have  permitted  a  chronicle  of 
their  experience,  even  had  the  art  of  writing  then 
existed.  But  details  of  adventure  as  wild  and 
strange,  perhaps,  as  any  encountered  by  those 
earliest  travellers  exist  in  the  volumes  of  recent 
discoverers ;  and  while  glancing  at  these,  we 
may  imagine  to  ourselves  similar  enterprises  of 
our  race,  in  the  thousands  of  years  which  are 
past  and  gone.  Let  it  be  observed,  in  passing, 
that  the  young  reader  will  find  no  books  more 
rich  and  varied  in  interest  than  those  of  intel- 
ligent travellers ;  and  if  our  slight  mention 
of  a  few  of  their  names  as  partakers  in  the 
"  Triumphs  of  Enterprise,"  should  induce  him 
to  form  a  larger  acquaintance  with  their  narra- 
tives, it  can  scarcely  fail  to  induce  thoughts  and 
resolves  that  will  tend  to  his  advantage. 

The  perils  to  be  undergone  in  desert  regions 
are  not  more  forcibly  described  by  any  travel- 
lers than  by  Major  Denham,  Dr.  Oudney  and 
Captain  Clapperton,  the  celebrated  African  dis- 
coverers.   "  The  sand-storm  we  had  the  misfor- 


226         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

tune  to  encounter  in  crossing  the  desert/'  says 
the  former,  "gSLYe  us  a  pretty  correct  idea  of  the 
dreaded  effects  of  these  hurricanes.  The  wind 
raised  the  fine  sand  with  which  the  extensive  de- 
sert was  covered,  so  as  to  fill  the  atmosphere,  and 
render  the  immense  space  before  us  impenetrable 
to  the  eye  beyond  a  few  yards.  The  sun  and 
clouds  were  entirely  obscured,  and  a  sufibcating 
and  oppressive  weight  accompanied  the  flakes 
and  masses  of  sand,  which,  I  had  almost  said, 
we  had  to  penetrate  at  every  step.  At  times, 
we  completely  lost  sight  of  the  camels,  though 
only  a  few  yards  before  us.  The  horses  hung 
their  tongues  out  of  their  mouths,  and  refused 
to  face  the  torrents  of  sand.  A  sheep  that  ac- 
companied the  kafila  (the  travelling  train),  the 
last  of  our  stock,  lay  down  on  the  road,  and  we 
were  obliged  to  kill  him  and  throw  the  carcass 
on  a  camel.  A  parching  thirst  oppressed  us, 
which  nothing  alleviated.  We  had  made  but 
little  way  by  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
when  the  wind  got  round  to  the  eastward, 
and  refreshed  us  a  little :  with  this  change  we 
moved  on  until  about  five,  when  we  halted,  pro- 
tected in  a  measure  by  some  hills.     As  we  had^ 


TRAVELLERS.  227 

but  little  wood,  our  fare  was  confined  to  tea; 
and  we  hoped  to  find  relief  from  our  fatigues 
by  a  sound  sleep.  That,  however,  was  denied 
us ;  the  tent  had  been  imprudently  pitched, 
and  was  exposed  to  the  east  wind,  which  blew 
a  hurricane  during  the  night;  the  tent  was 
blown  down,  and  the  whole  detachment  were 
employed  a  full  hour  in  getting  it  up  again. 
Our  bedding,  and  everything  within  the  tent 
was,  during  that  time  completely  buried  by  the 
constant  driving  of  the  sand.  I  was  obliged, 
three  times  dui'ing  the  night,  to  get  up  for  the 
purpose  of  strengthening  the  pegs ;  and  when, 
in  the  morning,  I  awoke,  two  hillocks  of  sand 
were  formed  on  each  side  of  my  head,  some 
inches  high." 

Dr.  Oudney,  the  partner  of  Dcnham  and 
Clapperton,  in  their  adventurous  enterprise, 
afibrds  details  more  frightful  in  character. 
*'  Strict  orders  had  been  given  during  a  cer- 
tain day  of  the  journey,"  he  informs  us,  "  for 
the  camels  to  keep  close  up,  and  for  the  Arabs 
not  to  straggle — the  Tibboo  Arabs  having  been 
seen  on  the  look  out.  During  the  last  two 
days,"  he  continues,  "we  had  passed  on  the 


228  THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

average  from  sixty  to  eighty  or  ninety  skeletons 
each  day ;  but  the  numbers  that  lay  about  the 
wells  of  El-Hammar  were  countless ;  those  of 
two  women,  whose  perfect  and  regular  teeth 
bespoke  them  young,  were  particularly  shock- 
ing— their  arms  still  remained  clasped  round 
each  other  as  they  had  expired,  although  the 
flesh  had  long  since  perished  by  being  exposed 
to  the  burning  rays  of  the  sun,  and  the  black- 
ened bones  only  were  left;  the  nails  of  the 
fingers,  and  some  of  the  sinews  of  the  hand  also 
remained,  and  part  of  the  tongue  of  one  of 
them  still  appeared  through  the  teeth.  We 
had  now  passed  six  days  of  desert  without  the 
slightest  appearance  of  vegetation,  and  a  little 
branch  was  brought  me  here  as  a  comfort  and 
curiosity.  A  few  roots  of  dry  grass,  blown  by 
the  winds  towards  the  travellers,  were  eagerly 
seized  on  by  the  Arabs,  with  cries  of  joy,  for 
their  hungry  camels.  Soon  after  the  sun  had 
retired  behind  the  hills  to  the  west,  we  de- 
scended into  a  wadey,  where  about  a  dozen 
stunted  bushes,  not  trees,  of  palm  marked  the 
spot  where  water  was  to  be  found.  The  wells 
were  so  choked  up  with  sand,  that  several  cart- 


TRAVELLERS.  229 

loads  of  it  were  removed  previous  to  finding 
sufficient  water;  and  even  then  the  animals 
could  not  drink  till  nearly  ten  at  night." 

Nor  was  it  merely  the  horrors  of  the  climate 
which  these  intrepid  travellers  had  to  encounter. 
Their  visitation  of  various  savage  tribes,  drew 
them  into  the  circle  of  barbarous  quarrels.  The 
peril  incurred  by  Major  Denham  while  accom- 
panying the  Bornou  warriors  in  their  expedi- 
tion against  the  Felatahs,  is  unsurpassed,  for 
interest,  in  any  book  of  travels.  **  My  horse 
was  badly  wounded  in  the  neck,  just  above  the 
shoulder,  and  in  the  near  hind  leg,"  says  the 
Major,  describing  what  has  befallen  himself  and 
steed  in  the  encounter ;  "  an  arrow  had  struck 
me  in  the  face  as  it  passed,  merely  drawing  the 
blood.  If  either  of  my  horse's  wounds  had 
been  from  poisoned  arrows,  I  felt  that  nothing 
could  save  me.  [The  tribe  he  accompanied  had 
been  worsted.]  However,  there  was  not  much 
time  for  reflection,  we  instantly  became  a  flying 
mass,  and  plunged,  in  the  greatest  disorder,  into 
that  wood  we  had  but  a  few  hours  before  moved 
through  with  order,  and  very  diflerent  feelings. 
The  spur  had  the  eflfect  of  incapacitating  my 


230         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

beast  altogether ,as  tlie  arrow,  I  found  afterwards, 
had  reached  the  shoulder-bone,  and  in  passing 
over  some  rough  ground,  he  stumbled  and  fell. 
Almost  before  I  was  on  my  legs,  the  Felatahs 
were  upon  me ;  I  had,  however,  kept  hold  of 
the  bridle,  and  seizing  a  pistol  from  the  hol- 
sters, I  presented  it  at  two  of  these  ferocious 
savages,  who  were  pressing  me  with  their  spears ; 
they  instantly  went  off;  but  another  who  came 
on  me  more  boldly,  just  as  I  was  endeavouring 
to  mount,  received  the  contents  somewhere  in 
his  left  shoulder,  and  again  I  was  enabled  to 
place  my  foot  in  the  stirrup.  Re-mounted,  I 
again  pushed  my  retreat ;  I  had  not,  however, 
proceeded  many  hundred  yards,  when  my  horse 
came  down  again,  with  such  violence  as  to 
throw  me  against  a  tree  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance ;  and,  alarmed  at  the  horses  behind,  he 
quickly  got  up  and  escaped,  leaving  me  on  foot 
and  unarmed.  A  chief  and  his  four  followers 
were  here  butchered  and  stripped ;  their  cries 
were  dreadful,  and  even  now  the  feelings  of 
that  moment  are  fresh  in  my  memory;  my 
hopes  of  life  were  too  faint  to  deserve  the  name. 
I  was  almost  instantly  surrounded,  and  inca- 


TRAVELLERS.  231 

pable  of  making  th^  least  resistance,  as  I  was 
unarmed.  I  was  as  speedily  stripped,  and 
whilst  attempting  first  to  save  my  shirt,  and 
then  my  trowsers,  I  was  tlirown  on  the  ground. 
^ly  pursuers  made  several  thrusts  at  me  with 
their  spears,  that  badly  wounded  my  hands  in 
two  places,  and  slightly  my  body,  just  under 
my  ribs,  on  the  right  side ;  indeed  I  saw  no- 
thing before  me  but  the  same  cruel  death  I  had 
seen  unmercifully  inflicted  on  the  few  who  had 
fallen  into  the  power  of  those  who  now  had 
possession  of  me.  My  shirt  was  now  absolutely 
torn  off  my  back,  and  I  was  left  perfectly 
naked. 

"  A^Tien  my  plunderers  began  to  quarrel  for 
the  spoil,  the  idea  of  escape  came  like  lightning 
across  my  mind,  and,  without  a  moment's  hesi- 
tation or  reflection,  I  crept  under  the  belly  of 
the  horse  nearest  me,  and  started  as  fast  as  my 
legs  could  carry  me  for  the  thickest  part  of  the 
wood.  Two  of  the  Felatahs  followed,  and  I  ran 
on  to  the  eastward,  knowing  that  our  stragglers 
would  be  in  that  direction,  but  still  almost  as 
much  afraid  of  friends  as  of  foes.  My  pursuers 
gained  on  inc,  for  the  prickly  underwood  not 


2S2  THE    TRIUMPHS    OF   ENTERPRISE. 

only  obstructed  my  passage,  but  tore  my  flesh 
miserably ;  and  the  delight  with  which  I  saw 
a  mountain-stream  gliding  along  at  the  bottom 
of  a  deep  ravine  cannot  be  imagined.  My 
strength  had  almost  left  me,  and  I  seized  the 
young  branches  issuing  from  the  stump  of  a 
large  tree  which  overhung  the  ravine,  for  the 
purpose  of  letting  myself  down  into  the  water, 
as  the  sides  were  precipitous,  when  under  my 
hand,  as  the  branch  yielded  to  the  weight  of 
my  body,  a  large  li^a,  the  worst  kind  of  ser- 
pent this  country  produces,  rose  from  its  coil,  as 
if  in  the  act  of  striking.  I  was  horror-stricken, 
and  deprived  for  a  moment  of  all  recollection ; 
the  branch  slipped  from  my  hand,  and  I  tum- 
bled headlong  into  the  water  beneath;  this 
shock,  however,  revived  me,  and  with  three 
strokes  of  my  arms  I  reached  the  opposite 
bank,  which,  with  difficulty  I  crawled  up ;  and 
then,  for  the  first  time,  felt  myself  safe  from 
my  pursuers. 

"  Scarcely  had  I  audibly  congratulated  my- 
self on  my  escape,  when  the  forlorn  and 
wretched  situation  in  which  I  was,  without 
even  a  rag  to  cover  me,  flashed  with  all  its 


TRAVELLERS.  233 

£01*06  upon  my  imagination.  I  was  perfectly 
collected,  though  fully  alive  to  all  the  danger 
to  which  my  state  exposed  me,  and  had  already 
began  to  plan  my  night*s  rest  in  the  top  of  one 
of  the  tamarind  trees,  in  order  to  escape  the  pan- 
thers, which,  as  I  had  s^en,  abounded  in  these 
Woods,  when  the  idea  of  the  liffas,  almost  as 
numerous,  and  equally  to  be  dreaded,  excited 
a  shudder  of  despair. 

"  I  now  saw  horsemen  through  the  trees,  still 
farther  to  the  east,  and  determined  on  reaching 
them,  if  possible,  whether  friends  or  enemies. 
They  were  friends.  I  hailed  them  with  all  my 
might ;  but  the  noise  and  confusion  which  pre- 
vailed, from  the  cries  of  those  who  were  falling 
under  the  Felatah  spears,  the  cheers  of  the 
Arabs  rallying,  and  their  enemies  pursuing, 
Would  have  drowned  all  attempts  to  make  my- 
Belf  heard,  had  not  the  sheikh's  negro  seen  and 
known  me  at  a  distance.  To  this  man  I  was 
indebted  for  my  second  escape :  riding  up  to 
me,  he  assisted  me  to  mount  behind  him,  while 
the  arrows  whistled  over  our  heads,  and  we 
then  galloped  off  to  the  rear  as  fast  as  his 
wounded  horse  would  carry  us.     After  we  had 

x2 


234 


THE  TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 


gone  a  mile  or  two,  and  the  pursuit  had  cooled, 
I  was  covered  with  a  bornouse :  this  was  a 
most  welcome  relief,  for  the  burning  sun  had 
already  begun  to  blister  my  neck  and  back, 
and  gave  me  the  greatest  pain;  and  had  we  not 
soon  arrived  at  water,  I  do  not  think  it  possible 
that  I  could  have  supported  the  thirst  by  which 
I  was  being  consumed." 

The  exciting  narrative  of  travel  in  the  central 
regions  of  Africa,  the  young  reader  may  pur- 
sue in  various  volumes,  from  those  describing 
the  ventures  of  Leo  Africanus,  in  1513,  to 
the  narrative  of  the  intrepid  career  of  Mungo 
Park,  in  1796.  From  the  dangers  of  travel  in 
the  torrid  zone,  the  spirit  of  contrast  would 
direct  us  to  a  glance  at  the  perils  of  adven- 
ture in  the  arctic.  Here,  a  pile  of  books 
written  by  men  of  science  await  us ;  but,  un- 
fortunately, many  of  them,  like  the  volumes  of 
Manpertuis  and  Pallas,  though  rich  in  details 
of  natural  philosophy  or  natural  history,  possess 
little  interest  as  narratives  of  adventure.  Their 
authors  had  little  or  none  of  the  true  heroic 
spirit  of  the  man  of  enterprise,  who  never 
courts  ease   when  the   way  of  danger  is   the 


TRAVELLERS.  235 

real  path  to  entire  knowledge.  The  spirit  of 
Dr.  Edward  Daniel  Clarke  marks  more  accu- 
rately the  proper  constitution  of  the  traveller 
united  with  the  tendencies  of  the  man  of 
science.  He  had  resolved  to  attempt  reaching 
the  North  Pole ;  but  having  arrived  at  Enon- 
takis,  in  latitude  68  degrees  30  min.  30  sec.  N., 
he  was  seized  with  illness,  and  obliged  to  re- 
turn to  the  south.  He  thus  writes  to  his 
mother,  from  Enontakis. 

"  We  have  found  the  cottage  of  a  priest  in 
this  remote  corner  of  the  world,  and  have  been 
snug  with  him  a  few  days.  Yesterday  I  launched 
a  balloon,  eighteen  feet  in  height,  which  I  had 
made  to  attract  the  natives.  You  may  guess 
their  astonishment  when  they  saw  it  rise  from 
the  earth.  Is  it  not  famous  to  be  here  within 
the  frigid  zone,  more  than  two  degrees  within 
the  arctic,  and  nearer  to  the  pole  than  the  most 
northern  shores  of  Iceland  ?  For  a  long  time 
darkness  has  been  a  stranger  to  us.  The  sun, 
as  yet,  passes  not  below  the  horizon,  but  he 
dips  his  crimson  visage  behind  a  mountain  to 
the  north.  This  mountain  we  ascended,  and 
had  the  satisfaction  to  sec  him  make  his  cour- 


236         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

tesy  without  setting.  At  midnight,  the  priest 
of  this  place  lights  his  pipe,  during  three  weeks 
of  the  year,  by  means  of  a  burning-glass,  from 
the  sun's  rays." 

Of  all  travellers  in  the  northern  regions, 
though  not  the  most  intellectual,  the  hardiest 
and  most  adventurous,  is  Captain  Cochrane. 
He  had,  originally,  intended  to  devote  himself 
to  African  discovery,  conceiving  himself  com- 
petent for  that  arduous  undertaking  by  ex- 
perience of  the  fatigues  he  had  borne  in  labo- 
rious pedestrian  journeys  through  France, 
Spain,  and  Portugal,  and  in  Canada.  The 
plan  I  proposed  to  follow,  says  he,  was  nearly 
that  adopted  by  Mungo  Park,  in  his  first 
journey;  intending  to  proceed  alone,  and  re- 
quiring only  to  be  furnished  with  the  counte- 
nance of  some  constituent  part  of  the  govern^ 
ment.  With  this  protection,  and  such  recom-- 
mendation  as  it  would  procure  me,  I  would 
have  accompanied  the  caravans  in  some  servile 
capacity,  nor  hesitated  even  to  sell  myself  as  a 
slave,  if  that  miserable  alternative  were  neces- 
sary, to  accomplish  the  object  I  had  in  view. 
In  going  alone,  I  relied  upon  my  own  indivi- 


TRAVELLERS.  287 

dual  exertions  and  knowledge  of  man,  un- 
fettered by  the  frailties  and  misconduct  of 
others.  I  was  then,  as  now,  convinced  that 
many  people  travelling  together  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exploring  a  barbarous  country,  have  the 
less  chance  of  succeeding;  more  especially, 
when  they  go  armed  and  take  with  them  pre- 
sents of  value.  The  appearance  of  numbers 
must  naturally  excite  the  natives  to  resistance, 
from  motives  of  jealousy  or  fear ;  and  the  dan- 
ger would  be  greatly  increased  by  the  hope  of 
plunder. 

The  answer  he  received  from  the  Admiralty 
being  unfavourable,  and  thinking  that  a  young 
commander  was  not  likely  to  be  employed  in 
active  service,  he  planned  for  himself  a  journey 
on  foot  round  the  globe,  as  nearly  as  it  could 
be  accomplished  by  land,  intending  to  cross 
from  northern  Asia  to  America  at  Behring's 
Straits.  Captain  Cochrane  did  not  realise  his 
first  intent,  but  he  tracked  the  breadth  of  the 
entire  continent  of  Asia  to  Kamtchatka.  Haz- 
ards and  dangers  befel  him,  frequently,  in  this 
enterprise;  but  he  pursued  it,  undauntedly. 
His  perils  commenced  when  he  had  left  St. 


S38         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

Petersburgh   but  a   few   days,    and   had   not 
reached  Novogorod. 

"  From  Tosna my  route  was  towards  Linbane/' 
says  our  adventurer;  "  at  about  the  ninth  mile- 
stone from  which  I  sat  down,  to  smoke  a  cigar 
or  pipe,  as  fancy  might  dictate.  I  was  sud- 
denly seized  from  behind  by  two  ruffians, 
whose  visages  were  as  much  concealed  as  the 
oddness  of  their  dress  would  permit.  One  of 
them,  who  held  an  iron  bar  in  his  hand, 
dragged  me  by  the  collar  towards  the  forest, 
while  the  other,  with  a  bayonetted  musket, 
pushed  me  on  in  such  manner  as  to  make  me 
move  with  more  than  ordinary  celerity;  a  boy, 
auxiliary  to  these  vagabonds,  was  stationed  on 
the  road-side  to  keep  a  look-out.  We  had  got 
some  sixty  or  eighty  paces  into  the  thickest 
part  of  the  forest,  when  I  was  desired  to  un- 
dress, and  having  stripped  off  my  trowsers  and 
jacket,  then  my  shirt,  and,  finally,  my  shoes 
and  stockings,  they  proceeded  to  tie  me  to  a 
tree.  From  this  ceremony,  and  from  the  man- 
ner of  it,  I  fully  concluded  that  they  intended 
to  try  the  effect  of  a  musket  upon  me,  by  firing 
at  me  as  they  would  at  a  mark.     I  was,  how- 


TRAVELLERS.  239 

ever,  reserved  for  fresh  scenes ;  the  villains, 
with  much  sang  froidy  seated  themselves  at  my 
feet,  and  rifled  my  knapsack  and  pockets,  even 
cutting  out  the  linings  of  the  clothes  in  search 
of  bank  bills  or  some  other  valuable  articles. 
They  then  compelled  me  to  take  at  least  a 
pound  of  black  bread,  and  a  glass  of  rum, 
poured  from  a  small  flask  which  had  been  sus- 
pended from  my  neck.  Having  appropriated 
my  trowsers,  shirts,  stockings,  and  shoes,  as 
also  my  spectacles,  watch,  compass,  thermo- 
meter, and  small  pocket-sextant,  mth  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  roubles,  (about  seven  pounds,) 
they  at  length  released  me  from  the  tree,  and, 
at  the  point  of  a  stiletto,  made  me  swear  that 
I  would  not  inform  against  them — such,  at 
least,  I  conjectured  to  be  their  meaning,  though 
of  their  language  I  understood  not  a  word. 
Having  received  my  promise,  I  was  again 
treated  by  them  to  bread  and  rum,  and  once 
more  fastened  to  the  tree,  in  which  condition 
they  finally  abandoned  me.  Not  long  after,  a 
boy,  who  was  passing,  heard  my  cries,  and  set 
me  at  liberty.  With  the  remnant  of  my  ap- 
parel,  I   rigged  myself  in   Scotch   Highland 


240         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

fashion,  and  resumed  my  route.  I  had  still 
left  me  a  blue  jacket,  a  flannel  waistcoat,  and  a 
spare  one,  wHcli  I  tied  round  my  waist  in  such 
a  manner  that  it  reached  down  to  the  knees ; 
my  empty  knapsack  was  restored  to  its  old 
place,  and  I  trotted  on  with  even  a  merry 
heart." 

He  comes  up  with  a  file  of  soldiers,  in  the 
course  of  a  few  miles,  and  is  relieved  with 
some  food,  but  declines  the  offer  of  clothes.  A 
carriage  is  also  offered,  to  convey  him  to  the 
next  military  station.  "  But  I  soon  discovered," 
he  continues,  "  that  riding  was  too  cold,  and 
therefore  preferred  walking,  barefooted  as  I 
was ;  and  on  the  following  morning  I  reached 
Tschduvo,  one  hundred  miles  from  St.  Peters- 
burg." At  Novogorod,  he  is  further  relieved 
by  the  governor,  and  accepts  from  him  a  shirt 
and  trowsers. 

He  reaches  Moscow,  without  a  renewal  of 
danger,  and,  thence,  Vladinir,  and  Pogost.  In 
the  latter  town  he  cheerfully  makes  his  bed 
in  a  style  that  shows  he  possessed  the  spirit  of 
an  adventurer  in  perfection.  "  Being  too  jaded 
to  proceed  farther,"  are  his  words,  "  I  thought 


TRAVELLERS.  241 

myself  fortunate  in  being  able  to  pass  the  night 
in  a  cash  Nor  did  I  think  this  mode  of  pass- 
ing the  night  a  novel  one.  Often,  very  often, 
have  I  in  the  fastnesses  of  Spain  and  Portugal, 
reposed  in  similar  style."  He  even  selects  ex- 
posure to  the  open  air,  for  sleep,  when  it  is  in 
his'  power  to  accept  indulgence.  "  Arrived  at 
Nishney  Novogorod,  the  Baron  Bode,"  says  he, 
"  received  me  kindly,  placing  me  for  board  in 
his  own  house ;  while  for  lodging  I  preferred 
the  open  air  of  his  garden :  there,  with  my 
knapsack  for  a  pillow,  I  passed  the  night  more 
pleasantly  than  I  should  have  done  on  a  bed 
of  down,  which  the  baron  pressed  me  most 
sincerely  to  accept."  A  man  who  thus  hardened 
himself  against  indulgence,  could  scarcely  dread 
any  of  the  hardships  so  inevitable  in  the  hazard- 
ous course  he  had  marked  out  for  himself. 

Accordingly,  we  find  him  exciting  the  won- 
der of  the  natives  by  his  hardihood,  in  the  very 
heart  of  Siberia.  At "  Irkutsk,"  is  his  own  rela- 
tion, "  in  the  month  of  January,  with  forty  de- 
grees of  Reaumur,  I  have  gone  about,  late  and 
early,  either  for  exercise  or  amusement,  to  balls 
or  dinners,  yet  did  I  never  use  any  other  kind 

Y 


S42         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE 

of  clothing  than  I  do  now  in  the  streets  of 
London.  Thus  my  readers  must  not  suppose 
my  situation  to  have  been  so  desperate.  It  is 
true  the  natives  felt  surprised,  and  pitied  my 
apparently  forlorn  and  hopeless  situation^,  not 
seeming  to  consider  that  when  the  mind  and 
body  are  in  constant  motion,  the  elements  can 
have  little  effect  upon  the  person.  I  feel  con- 
fident that  most  of  the  miseries  of  human  life 
are  brought  about  by  want  of  a  solid  educa- 
tion— of  firm  reliance  on  a  bountiful  and  ever- 
attendant  Providence — of  a  spirit  of  perseve- 
rance— of  patience  under  fatigue  and  priva- 
tions, and  a  resolute  determination  to  hold  to 
the  point  of  duty,  never  to  shrink  while  life 
retains  a  spark,  or  while  '  a  shot  is  in  the 
locker,'  as  sailors  say.  Often,  indeed,  have  I 
felt  myself  in  difficult  and  trying  circumstances, 
from  cold,  or  hunger,  or  fatigue ;  but,  I  may 
affirm,  with  gratitude,  that  I  have  never  felt 
happier  than  even  in  the  encountering  of  these 
difficulties."  He  remarks,  soon  afterwards,  that 
he  has  never  seen  his  constitution  equalled; 
but  the  young  reader  will  remember  that  the 
undaunted  adventurer  has  strikingly  shown  us 


TRAVELLERS.  243 

how  this  excellent  constitution  was  preserved 
from  injury  by  shunning  effeminacy. 

Yet,  our  traveller's  superlative  constitution 
is  severely  tested,  when  he  reaches  the  country 
of  the  Yakuti,  a  tribe  of  Siberian  Tartars.  He 
crosses  a  mountain  range,  and  halts,  with  the 
attendants  he  has  now  found  the  means  to  en- 
gage, for  the  night,  at  the  foot  of  an  elevation, 
somewhat  sheltered  from  the  cold  north-wind. 
"  The  first  thing  on  my  arrival,'*  he  relates, 
"was  to  unload  the  horses,  loosen  their  saddles  or 
pads,  take  the  bridle  out  of  their  mouths,  and 
tie  them  to  a  tree  in  such  a  manner  that  they 
could  not  eat.  The  Yakuti  then  with  their 
axes  proceeded  to  fell  timber,  while  I  and  the 
Cossack,  with  our  lopatkas,  or  wooden  spades, 
cleared  away  the  snow,  which  was  generally  a 
couple  of  feet  deep.  We  then  spread  branches 
of  the  pine  tree,  to  fortify  us  from  the  damp 
or  cold  earth  beneath  us  ;  a  good  fire  was  now 
soon  made,  and  each  bringing  a  leathern  bag 
from  the  baggage,  furnished  himself  with  a 
seat.  We  then  put  the  kettle  on  the  fire,  and 
soon  forgot  the  sufierings  of  the  day.  At  times 
the  weather  was  so  cold  that  we  were  obliged 


244         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

to  creep  almost  into  the  fire ;  and  as  I  was 
much  worse  off  than  the  rest  of  the  party  for 
warm  clothing,  I  had  recourse  to  every  strata- 
gem I  could  devise  to  keep  my  blood  in  circu- 
lation. It  was  barely  possible  to  keep  one  side 
of  the  body  from  freezing,  while  the  other 
might  be  said  to  be  roasting.  Upon  the  whole, 
I  passed  the  night  tolerably  well,  although  I 
was  obliged  to  get  up  five  or  six  times  to  take 
a  walk,  or  run  for  the  benefit  of  my  feet.  The 
following  day,  at  thirty  miles,  we  again  halted 
in  the  snow,  when  I  made  a  horse-shoe  fire, 
which  I  found  had  the  effect  of  keeping  every 
part  of  me  alike  warm,  and  I  actually  slept  well 
without  any  other  covering  than  my  clothes 
thrown  over  me,  whereas  before  I  had  only 
the  consolation  of  knowing  that  if  I  was  in  a 
freezing  state  with  one  half  of  my  body,  the 
other  was  meanwhile  roasting  to  make  amends." 
Captain  Cochrane's  constitution  had  so  much 
of  the  power  of  adaptation  to  circumstances, 
that  he  was  enabled  to  make  a  meal  even  with 
the  savagest  tribes.  A  deer  had  been  shot,  and 
the  Yakuti  began  to  eat  it  uncooked!  "  Of 
course,"  says  he,  "  I  had  the  most  luxurious 


TRAVELLERS.  245 

J)art  presented  to  me,  being  the  marrow  of  the 
fore-legs.  I  did  not  find  it  disagreeable,  though 
eaten  raw  and  warm  from  life ;  in  a  frozen  state 
I  should  consider  it  a  great  delicacy.  The 
animal  was  the  size  of  a  good  calf,  weighing 
about  two  hundred  pounds.  Such  a  quantity  of 
meat  may  serve  four  or  five  good  Yaiuti  for  a 
single  meal,  with  whom  it  is  ever  famine  or 
feast,  gluttony  or  starvation." 

The  captain's  account  of  the  feeding  powers 
of  the  Yakuti  surpasses,  indeed,  anything  to  be 
found  in  the  narratives  of  travellers  which  are 
proverbial  for  wonder.  ''At  Tabalak  I  had  a 
pretty  good  specimen,"  he  continues,  "  of  the 
appetite  of  a  child,  whose  age  could  not  exceed 
five  years.  I  had  observed  it  crawling  on  the 
floor,  and  scraping  up  with  its  thumb  the  tallow- 
grease  which  fell  firom  a  lighted  candle,  and  I 
enquired  in  surprise  whether  it  proceeded  from 
hunger  or  liking  of  the  fat.  I  was  told  from 
neither,  but  simply  from  the  habit  in  both 
Yakuti  and  Tungousi  of  eating  wherever  there 
is  food,  and  never  permitting  anything  that  can 
be  eaten  to  be  lost.  I  gave  the  child  a  candle 
made  of  the  most  impure  tallow,  a  second,  and 

V  2 


S46         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   ENTERPHISE. 

a  third, —  and  all  were  devoured  with  avidity. 
The  steersman  then  gave  him  several  pounds  of 
sour  frozen  butter;  this  also  he  immediately- 
consumed.  Lastly,  a  large  piece  of  yellow 
soap :  all  went  the  same  road;  but  as  I  was  con- 
vinced that  the  child  would  continue  to  gorge 
as  long  as  it  could  receive  anything,  I  begged 
my  companion  to  desist  as  I  had  done.  As  to 
the  statement  of  what  a  man  can  or  will  eat, 
either  as  to  quality  or  quantity,  I  am  afraid  it 
would  be  quite  incredible.  In  fact,  there  is 
nothing  in  the  way  of  fish  or  meat,  from  what- 
ever animal,  however  putrid  or  unwholesome, 
but  they  will  devour  with  impunity,  and  the 
quantity  only  varies  from  what  they  have,  to 
what  they  can  get.  I  have  repeatedly  seen  a 
Yakut  or  a  Tungouse  devour  forty  pounds  of 
meat  in  a  day.  The  effects  are  very  observable 
upon  them,  for,  from  thin  and  meagre-looking 
men,  they  will  become  perfectly  pot-bellied. 
I  have  seen  three  of  these  gluttons  consume  a 
rein-deer  at  one  meal." 

These  doings  of  the  Siberian  Tartars,  our 
young  readers  will  have  rightly  judged,  how- 
ever, are  not  among  the  most  praise-worthy  or 


TRAVELLERS.  ^7 

dignified  of  the  "  Triumphs  of  Enterprise;" 
and  we  turn,  with  a  sense  of  relief,  to  other 
scenes  of  adventure. 

The  grand  mountain-range  of  the  Andes,  or 
CordiQeras,  with  its  rugged  and  barren  peaks 
and  volcanoes,  and  destitution  of  human  habi- 
tants, sometimes  for  scores  of  miles  in  the  tra- 
veller's route,  has  afforded  a  striking  theme  for 
many  writers  of  their  own  adventures  in  South 
America.  Mr.  Temple,  a  traveller  in  1825, 
affords  us  some  exciting  views  of  the  perils  of 
his  journey  from  Peru  to  Buenos  Ayres. 

In  the  afternoon  of  one  of  these  perilous  days 
he  had  to  ascend  and  descend  the  highest  moun- 
tain he  had  ever  yet  crossed.  After  winding 
for  more  than  two  hours  up  its  rugged  side, 
and  precisely  in  the  most  terrifying  spot,  the 
baggage-mule,  which  was  in  front,  suddenly 
stopped.  "And  well  it  might,  poor  little 
wretch,  after  scrambling  with  its  burden  up  such 
fatiguing  flights  of  craggy  steps ! "  exclaims 
this  benevolent-minded  traveller;  "the  narrow- 
ness of  the  path  at  this  spot  did  not  allow  room 
to  approach  the  animal  to  unload  and  give  it  rest. 
On  on  side  was  the  solid  rock,  which  drooped 


248         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    E^'TERPllISE- 

over  our  heads  in  a  half-arch ;  on  the  other,  a 
frightful  abyss,  of  not  less  than  two  hundred 
feet  perpendicular.  Patience  was,  indeed,  re- 
quisite here,  but  the  apprehension  was,  that 
some  traveller  or  courier  might  come  in  the 
contrary  direction,  and^  as  the  sun  was  setting, 
the  consequences  could  not  fail  of  proving  dis- 
astrous to  either  party.  At  one  time,  I  held  a 
council  to  deliberate  on  the  prudence  of  freeing 
the  passage  by  shooting  the  mule,  and  letting  it 
roll,  baggage  and  all,  to  the  bottom.  In  this  I 
was  opposed  by  the  postillion,  though  another 
as  well  as  myself,  was  of  opinion  that  it  was  the 
only  method  of  rescuing  us  from  our  critical 
situation  before  nightfall.  I  never  felt  so  per- 
plexed in  my  life.  We  were  all  useless,  help- 
less, and  knew  not  what  to  do.  After  upwards 
of  half  an  hour— or,  apprehension  might  add  a 
few  minutes  to  this  dubious  and  truly  nervous 
pause— the  mule,  of  its  own  accord,  moved  on 
slowly  for  about  twenty  yards  and  stopped 
again:  then  proceeded,  then  stopped ;  and  thus, 
after  two  hours'  further  ascent,  we  gradually 
reached  the  summit.  Two  or  three  times  I 
wished,  for  safety's  sake,  to  alight,  but  actually 


TRAVELLERS.  J^9 

I  had  not  room  to  do  so  upon  the  narrow  edge 
of  the  tremendous  precipice  on  my  left. 

He  was  less  fortunate  in  his  return  over  the 
mountains  of  Tarij  a.  "Cruel  was  the  sight,"  says 
he,  "  to  see  us  toiling  up  full  fifteen  miles  con- 
tinued steep  to  the  summit  of  the  Cordillera, 
that  here  forms  a  ridge  round  the  south-western 
extremity  of  the  province  of  Tarija;  but  crueller 
by  far  to  behold  the  wretched,  wretched  mule 
that  slipped  on  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  and 
— away!  exhibiting  ten  thousand  summersets, 
round,  round,  round !  down,  down,  down ! 
nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  thousand  fathoms 
deep ! — certainly  not  one  yard  less,  according 
to  the  scale  by  which  I  measured  the  chasm  in 
my  wonder-struck  imagination,  while  I  stood 
in  the  stirrups  straining  forward  over  the  ears 
of  my  horse,  (which  trembled  with  alarm,),  and 
viewed  the  microscopic  diminution  of  the  mule, 
as  it  revolved  with  accelerated  motion  to  the 
bottom,  carrying  with  it  our  whole  grand  store 
of  provision." 

Here  they  were  obliged  to  leave  the  poor 
animal  to  its  fate,  which  there  was  no  doubt  would 
be  that  of  being  devoured  by  condors.     But  a 


SoO         THE    TllIUMPHS    OF   ENTERPRISE. 

far  more  serious  accident  befel  Mr.  Temple  a 
few  days  after  this.  A  favourite  horse  that  he 
had  purchased  on  his  journey  to  Potosi,  got 
loose,  and  galloping  oiF  after  a  herd  of  his  own 
species,  speedily  disappeared,  and  was  never 
recovered.  His  apostrophe  to  this  animal  is  a 
specimen  of  fine  benevolent  sentiment. — "  My 
horse,"  said  I  to  myself,  "  my  best  horse,  my 
favourite  horse,  my  companion,  my  friend,  for 
so  long  a  time,  on  journeys  of  so  many  hundred 
miles,  carrying  me  up  and  down  mountains, 
along  the  edge  of  precipices,  across  rivers  and 
torrents,  where  the  safety  of  the  rider  so  often 
depended  solely  on  the  worthiness  of  the  animal 
— to  lose  thee  now  in  a  moment  of  so  much 
need,  in  a  manner  so  unexpected,  and  so  pro- 
vokingly  accidental,  aggravated  my  loss.  The 
constant  care  I  took  of  thee  proves  the  value  I 
set  on  thy  merits.  At  the  end  of  many  a  weari- 
some journey,  accommodation  and  comfort  for 
thee  were  invariably  my  first  consideration,  let 
mine  be  what  they  might.  Not  even  the  seve- 
rity of  the  past  night  could  induce  me  to  de- 
prive thee  of  thy  rug  for  my  own  gratification. 
And  must  I  now  suddenly  say  farewell  ?    Then 


TRAVELLERS.  251 

farewell,  my  trusty  friend!  A  thousand  dollars 
arc  in  that  portmanteau  :  had  I  lost  every  one 
of  them,  they  must,  indeed,  have  occasioned 
regret ;  but  never  could  they  have  excited  such 
a  feeling  of  sorrow  as  thou  hast,  my  best,  my 
favourite  horse — farewell !" 

If  we  wished  to  depicture  the  earth  as  it  must 
have  appeared  to  primeval  travellers,  Hum- 
boldt, the  most  sagacious  of  adventurers,  seems 
to  assure  us  that  South  America  approaches 
nearest  to  such  a  picture.  In  this  part  of  the 
new  continent,  he  remarks,  surrounded  by  dense 
forests  of  boundless  extent,  we  almost  accus- 
tomed ourselves  to  regard  men  as  not  being 
essential  to  the  order  of  nature.  The  earth  is 
loaded  with  plants,  and  nothing  impedes  their 
free  development.  An  immense  layer  of  mould 
manifests  the  uninterrupted  action  of  organic 
powers.  The  crocodiles  and  the  boas  are  mas- 
ters of  the  river ;  the  jaguar,  the  pecari,  the 
dante,  and  the  monkeys,  traverse  the  forest 
without  fear,  and  without  danger;  there  they 
dwell  as  in  an  ancient  inheritance.  This  aspect 
of  animated  nature,  in  which  man  is  nothing, 
has  something  in  it  strange  and  sad.     Jo  this 


252         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

we  reconcile  ourselves  with  diiSculty  on  the 
ocean,  and  amid  the  sands  of  Africa ;  though 
in  these  scenes,  where  nothing  recals  to  mind 
our  fields,  our  woods,  and  our  streams,  we  are 
less  astonished  at  the  vast  solitude  through 
which  we  pass.  Here,  in  a  fertile  country 
adorned  with  eternal  verdure,  we  seek  in  vain 
the  traces  of  the  power  of  man ;  we  seem  to  be 
transported  into  a  world  different  from  that 
which  gave  us  birth. 

Of  the  suffering  to  be  encountered  by  adven- 
turers in  these  regions,  we  are  assured,  how- 
ever, by  Humboldt,  the  chief  source  does  not 
consist  in  the  presence  of  crocodiles  or  serpents, 
jaguars  or  monkeys.  The  dread  of  these  sinks 
into  nothing  when  compared  to  the  plaga  de  la 
moscas — the  torment  of  insects.  "  However 
accustomed,"  says  Humboldt,  "  you  may  be  to 
endure  pain  without  complaint,  however  lively 
an  interest  you  may  take  in  the  object  of  your 
researches,  it  is  impossible  not  to  be  constantly 
disturbed  by  the  mosquettoes,  zaucudoes,  je- 
jeus,  and  tempraneroes,  that  cover  the  faces 
and  hands,  pierce  the  clothes  with  their  long 
sucker^  in  the  shape  of  a  needle,  and  getting 


TRAVELLERS.  25S 

into  the  mouth  and  nostrils,  set  you  coughing 
and  sneezing,  whenever  you  attempt  to  speak 
in  the  open  air.  I  doubt  whether  there  be  a 
country  on  earth  where  man  is  exposed  to 
more  cruel  torments  in  the  rainy  seasons,  when 
the  lower  strata  of  the  air,  to  the  height  of 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  are  filled  with  venomous 
insects,  like  a  condensed  vapour." 

Of  the  American  mosquito,  this  terrific  account 
is  confirmed  by  Mr.  Hood,  one  of  the  compa- 
nions of  Captain  Franklin,  in  the  intrepid  attempt 
to  reach  the  North  Pole  by  overland  journey. 
'*  We  had  sometimes  procured  a  little  rest,"  he 
observes,  "  by  closing  the  tent,  and  burning 
wood,  or  flashing  gunpowder  within,  the  smoke 
driving  the  musquitoes  into  the  crannies  of  the 
ground.  But  this  remedy  was  now  inefiectual, 
though  we  employed  it  so  perseveringly  as  to 
hazard  sufibcation.  They  swarmed  under  oui' 
blankets,  goring  us  with  their  envenomed 
trunks,  and  steeping  our  clothes  in  blood.  We 
rose  at  daylight  in  a  fever,  and  our  misery  was 
unmitigated  during  our  whole  stay.  The  food 
of  the  musquito  is  blood,  which  it  can  extract 
by  penetrating  the  hide  of  a  bufialo  ;  and  if  it  is 


254         THE    TRIUMPHS   OF    ENTERPRISE. 

not  disturbed,  it  gorges  itself  so  as  to  swell  its 
body  into  a  transparent  globe.  The  wound  does 
not  swell,  like  that  of  the  African  mosquito,  but 
it  is  infinitely  more  painful;  and  when  multi- 
plied an  hundred  fold,  and  continued  for  so 
many  successive  days,  it  becomes  an  evil  of 
such  magnitude,  that  cold,  famine,  and  every 
other  concomitant  of  an  inhospitable  climate, 
must  yield  pre-eminence  to  it.  It  chases  the 
buifalo  to  the  plains,  irritating  him  to  madness ; 
and  the  rein-deer  to  the  sea-shore,  from  which 
they  do  not  return  till  the  scourge  has  ceased." 
Captain  Back,  whose  Arctic  Land  Expedi- 
tion, has  made  his  name  memorable  confirms 
these  accounts.  After  describing  the  difficulties 
of  himself  and  party  in  dragging  their  baggage 
and  provisions,  and  even  their  canoe,  up  high, 
steep,  and  rugged  ridges,  over  swamps  of  thick 
stunted  firs,  and  open  spaces  barren  and  deso- 
late, on  which  "  crag  was  piled  on  crag  to  the 
height  of  two  thousand  feet  from  the  base," — 
he  adds  these  descriptives  sentences  of  the  in- 
sect plagues.  "  The  laborious  duty  which  had 
been  thus  performed  was  rendered  doubly 
severe  by  the  combined  attack  of  myriads  of 


TRAVELLERS.  255 

sandflies  and  mosquitoes,  which  made  our 
faces  stream  with  blood.  There  is  certainly  no 
form  of  wretchedness,  among  those  to  which 
the  chequered  life  of  a  traveller  is  exposed,  at 
once  so  great  and  so  humiliating,  as  the  torture 
inflicted  by  these  puny  blood-suckers.  To 
avoid  them  is  impossible ;  and  as  for  defending 
himself,  though  for  a  time  he  may  go  on  crush- 
ing by  thousands,  he  cannot  long  maintain  the 
unequal  conflict;  so  that  at  last,  subdued  by 
pain  and  fatigue,  he  throws  himself  in  despair 
with  his  face  to  the  earth,  and,  half  suffocated 
in  his  blanket,  groans  away  a  few  hours  of 
sleepless  rest". 

The  swarms  of  sand-flies,  called  hrulots  by 
the  Canadians,  it  appears  by  the  following  ac- 
count of  Captain  Back,  are  as  annoying  as  the 
mosquitoes.  "  As  we  dived  into  the  confined  and 
suflTocating  chasms,  or  waded  through  the  close 
swamps,  they  rose  in  clouds,  actually  darkening 
the  air.  To  see  or  speak  was  equally  difficult, 
for  they  rushed  at  every  undefended  part,  and 
fixed  their  poisonous  fangs  in  an  instant.  Our 
faces  streamed  with  blood,  as  if  leeches  had 
been  applied;  and  there   was  a  burning  and 


256       THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

irritating  pain,  followed  by  immediate  im- 
flammation,  and  producing  giddiness,  which 
almost  drove  us  mad.  Whenever  we  halted, 
which  the  nature  of  the  country  compelled  us 
to  do  often,  the  men,  even  the  Indians,  threw 
themselves  on  their  faces,  and  moaned  with 
pain  and  agony.  My  arms  being  less  encum- 
bered, I  defended  myself  in  some  degree  by 
waving  a  branch  in  each  hand  ;  but  even  with 
this  and  the  aid  of  a  veil  and  stout  leather 
gloves,  I  did  not  escape  without  severe  punish- 
ment. For  the  time,  I  thought  the  tiny  plagues 
worse  even  than  mosquitoes." 

The  ardour  which  can  bear  a  man  onward 
through  difficulties  and  annoyances  of  this  nature 
is  admirable ;  but  love  is  united  with  our  ad- 
miration when  Captain  Back  gives  the  follow- 
ing testimony  to  the  benevolence  of  Sir  John 
Franklin. 

"  It  was  the  custom  of  Sir  John  Franklin 
never  to  kill  a  fly;  and  though  teased  by  them 
beyond  expression,  especially  when  engaged  in 
taking  observations,  he  would  quietly  desist 
from  his  work,  and  patiently  blow  the  half- 
gorged  intruders  from  his  hands — ^  the  world 


TRAVELLERS.  267 

was  wide  enough  for  both.'  This  was  jocosely 
remarked  upon  by  Akaitcho  and  the  four  or 
five  Indians  who  accompanied  him.  "  But  the 
impression,  it  seems,"  continues  Captain  Back, 
"  had  sunk  deep;  for  on  Manfelly's  seeing  me 
fill  my  tent  with  smoke,  and  then  throw  open 
the  front  and  beat  the  sides  all  round  with  leafy 
branches  to  drive  out  the  stupified  pests  before 
I  went  to  rest,  he  could  not  refrain  from  expres- 
sing his  surprise  that  I  should  be  so  unlike  '  the 
old  chief  who  would  not  destroy  so  much  as  a 
single  mosquito." — So  true  it  is  that  the  real 
hero,  he  for  whom  danger  has  no  terrors,  has 
the  kindest  and  gentlest  nature ! 


z  S 


258         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 


€\^ttt  t\t  f  l]irJr, 


He  who  first  committed  himself  to  the  perils  of 
the  great  waters  must  have  been  peculiarly 
distinguished  among  men  for  his  intrepidity. 
Modern  adventure  on  the  wide  ocean,  or  in 
comparatively  unknown  seas,  is  not  accom- 
panied with  that  uncertainty,  and  sense  of 
utter  desolation,  which  must  have  filled  the 
mind  of  early  adventurers  when  driven  out  of 
sight  of  land  by  the  tempest ;  but  neither  the 
discovery  of  the  compass,  nor  the  many  other 
aids  to  safety  possessed  by  modern  navigators 
free  their  enterprises  from  appalling  dangers. 
The  persevering  courage  of  travellers  ever- 
more commands  our  admiration ;  but  the  voy- 
ager takes  his  life  in  his  hand  from  the  moment 
that  he  leaves  the  shore.     The  freedom  from 


TKAVKLLERS.  269 

fear,  nay,  the  cheerfulness  and  exultation,  he 
experiences  when  surrounded  by  the  waste  of 
waters,  far  away  from  the  enjoyments  of  house 
and  home;  the  unsubduable  resolution  with 
which  he  careers  over  the  wave,  and  encoun- 
ters every  vicissitude  of  season  and  climate ; 
the  strength  and  vastness  of  the  element  itself 
which  is  the  chief  scene  of  his  daring  enter- 
prise; these,  are  considerations  that  ever  inter- 
weave themselves  with  our  ideal  of  the  sea- 
adventurer,  and  render  him  the  object  of  more 
profound  and  ardent  admiration  than  the  mere 
traveller  by  land. 

To  ourselves,  as  natives  of  a  country  whose 
greatness  is  owing  to  commercial  enterprise 
and  superiority  in  the  arts  of  navigation,  these 
remarks  forcibly  apply.  Maritime  discovery 
has  been  oftener,  much  oftencr,  undertaken  by 
England  and  Englishmen,  than  by  any  other 
country  or  people  in  the  world.  Many  secon- 
dary reasons  for  this  might  be  alleged,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  primary  one  of  discovery.  Such 
undertakings  are  the  means  of  training  our 
sailors  to  hardihood,  and  young  officers  to  the 
most  difficult  and  dangerous  situations  in  which 


260         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   ENTERPRISE. 

a  sliip  can  be  placed.  They  accustom  the 
oiRcers  how  to  take  care  of,  and  to  preserve 
the  health  of  a  ship's  company.  They  are  the 
means  of  solid  instruction  in  the  higher  branches 
of  nautical  science,  and  in  the  use  of  the  various 
instruments  which  science  has,  of  late  years 
especially,  brought  to  such  perfection. 

The  career  of  the  navigator  thus  assumes  a 
higher  character,  being  that  of  a  pioneer  of 
science  and  corroborator  of  its  discoveries,  than 
the  employ  or  profession  of  any  other  man,  how- 
ever elevated  the  station  allotted  him  by  society. 
Reflection  will  convince  the  young  reader  that 
such  men  as  Cook  and  Vancouver,  Parry  and 
E-oss,  are  much  more  deserving  of  triumphal 
monuments  than  martial  heroes.  The  dangers 
they  encountered  were  fully  as  great;  while  the 
tendency  of  their  grand  enterprises  was  not  to 
inflict  suffering  on  mankind;  but  to  enlighten 
it  with  the  knowledge  of  distant  quarters  of 
the  globe,  and  to  bless  and  enrich  it,  by  the 
improvement  of  navigation  and  commerce.  For 
these  reasons  the  claim  of  the  navigator  to  a 
high  rank  in  our  brief  chronicle  of  the  "  Tri- 
umphs of  Enterprise,"  would  boldly  assert  it- 


TRAVELLERS.  261 

self,  indei)endent  of  the  exciting  nature  of  sea- 
adventures. 

Here  is  an  hour  of  danger  described  by  the 
heroic  Ross,  and  occurring  in  the  month  of 
August,  1818,  during  that  intrepid  comman- 
der's search  for  the  long-wished-for  "  North 
West  Passage."  "  The  two  ships  were  caught 
by  a  gale  of  wind  among  the  ice,  and  fell  foul 
of  each  other.  The  ice-anchors  and  cables 
broke,  one  after  another,  and  the  stems  of  the 
two  ships  came  so  violently  into  contact,  as  to 
crush  to  pieces  a  boat  that  could  not  be  re- 
moved in  time.  Neither  the  masters,  the  mates, 
nor  those  men  who  had  been  all  their  lives  in  the 
Greenland  service  had  ever  experienced  such 
imminent  peril;  and  they  declared  that  a  com- 
mon whaler  must  have  been  crushed  to  atoms. 
Our  safety  must,  indeed,  be  attributed  to  the 
perfect  and  admirable  manner  in  which  the 
vessels  had  been  strengthened  when  fitting  for 
the  service.  But  our  troubles  were  not  yet  at 
an  end;  for,  as  the  gale  increased,  the  ice  be- 
gan to  move  with  greater  velocity,  while  the 
continued  thick  fall  of  snow  kept  from  oui* 
sight  the  further  danger  that  awaited  us,  till 


262         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

it  became  imminent.  A  large  field  of  ice  was 
soon  discovered  at  a  small  distance,  bearing 
fast  down  upon  ns  from  the  west,  and  it  thus 
became  necessary  to  saw  docks  for  refuge,  in 
which  service  all  hands  were  immediately  em- 
ployed. It  was,  however,  found  to  be  too 
thick  for  our  nine-feet  saws,  and  no  progress 
could  be  made.  This  circumstance  proved  for- 
tunate, for  it  was  soon  after  perceived  that  the 
field,  to  which  we  were  moored  for  this  pur- 
pose, was  drifting  rapidly  on  a  reef  of  icebergs 
which  lay  aground.  The  topsails  were,  there- 
fore, close-reefed,  in  order  that  we  might  run, 
as  a  last  resource,  between  two  bergs,  or  into 
any  creek  that  might  be  found  among  them; 
when  suddenly  the  field  acquired  a  circular 
motion,  so  that  every  exertion  was  now  neces- 
sary for  the  purpose  of  warping  along  the  edge, 
that  being  the  sole  chance  we  had  of  escaping 
the  danger  of  being  crushed  on  an  iceberg.  In 
a  few  minutes  we  observed  that  part  of  the 
field  into  which  we  had  attempted  to  cut  our 
docks,  come  in  contact  with  the  berg,  with  such 
rapidity  and  violence,  as  to  rise  more  than  fifty 
feet  up  its  precipitous  side,  where  it  suddenly 


TRAVELLERS.  JB6S 

broke,  the  elevated  part  falling  back  on  the  rest 
with  a  terrible  crash,  and  overwhehning  with 
its  ruins  the  very  spot  we  had  previously  chosen 
for  our  safety.  Soon  afterwards  the  ice  appeared 
to  us  sufficiently  open  for  us  to  pass  the  reef 
of  bergs,  and  we  once  more  found  ourselves  in 
a  place  of  security." 

The  terrors  of  an  iceberg  scene  are  most 
graphically  depicted  by  lloss,  in  the  account  of 
his  second  voyage  of  discovery.  "  It  is  unfortu- 
nate," says  he,  "  that  no  description  can  con- 
vey an  idea  of  a  scene  of  this  nature ;  and,  as 
to  pencil,  it  cannot  represent  motion  or  noise. 
And  to  those  who  have  not  seen  a  northern 
ocean  in  winter — who  have  not  seen  it,  I 
should  say,  in  a  mnter's  storm — the  term  ice, 
exciting  but  the  recollection  of  what  they  only 
know  at  rest,  in  an  inland  lake  or  canal,  con- 
veys no  ideas  of  what  it  is  the  fate  of  an  arctic 
navigator  to  witness  and  to  feel.  But  let  them 
remember  that  ice  is  stone ;  a  floating  rock  in 
the  stream,  a  promontory  or  an  island  when 
aground,  not  less  solid  than  if  it  were  a  land  of 
granite.  Then  let  them  imagine,  if  they  can, 
these  mountains  of  crystal   hurled  through  a 


264        THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

narrow  strait  by  a  rapid  tide ;  meeting,  as  moun- 
tains in  motion  would  meet,  with  the  noise  of 
thunder,  breaking  from  each  other's  precipices 
huge  fragments,  or  rending  each  other  asunder, 
till,  losing  their  former  equilibrium,  they  fall 
over  headlong,  lifting  the  sea  around  in 
breakers,  and  whirling  it  in  eddies;  while  the 
flatter  fields  of  ice  forced  against  these  masses, 
or  against  the  rocks,  by  the  wind  and  the 
stream,  rise  out  of  the  sea  till  they  fall  back  on 
themselves,  adding  to  the  indescribable  com- 
motion and  noise  which  attend  these  occur- 
rences." 

How  tremendous  must  be  the  sense  of  danger 
to  the  tenants  of  a  frail  ship  amidst  such  gigantic 
forces  of  nature,  the  most  inexperienced  reader 
can  form  some  conception.  But,  overwhelming 
as  the  feeling  of  awe  must  be  with  the  sailor 
surrounded  with  such  terrors,  it  must  be  in- 
finitely more  tolerable  than  the  prolonged  and 
indescribably  irksome  heart-ache  he  experi- 
ences when  enclosed  for  months  in  fixed  ice, 
encompassed  on  eveiy  hand  with  desolation. 
"  He  must  be  a  seaman,"  says  the  same  gallant 
adventurer,   "  to  feel   that  the  vessel  which 


TRAVELLEKS.  1865 

bounds  beneath  him,  which  listens  to  and  obeys 
the  smallest  movement  of  his  hand,  which  seems 
to  move  but  under  his  will,  is  '  a  thing  of  life,' 
a  mind  conforming  to  his  wishes :  not  an  inert 
body,  the  sport  of  winds  and  waves.  But  what 
seaman  could  feel  this  as  we  did,  when  this 
creature,  which  used  to  carry  us  buoyantly 
over  the  ocean,  had  been  during  an  entire  year 
immovable  as  the  ice  and  the  rocks,  around  it, 
helpless,  disobedient,  dead?  We  were  weary 
for  want  of  occupation,  for  want  of  variety,  for 
want  of  the  means  of  mental  exertion,  for  want 
of  thought,  and  (why  shordd  I  not  say  it  ?)  for 
want  of  society.  To-day  was  as  yesterday — and 
as  was  to-day,  so  would  be  to-morrow:  while, 
if  there  were  no  variety,  no  hope  of  better, 
is  it  wonderful  that  even  the  visits  of  bar- 
barians were  welcome ;  or  can  anything  more 
strongly  show  the  nature  of  our  pleasures, 
than  the  confession  that  these  visits  were  de- 
lightful— even  as  the  society  of  London  might 
be  amid  the  business  of  London  ?  When  the 
winter  has  once  in  reality  set  in,  our  minds 
become  made  up  on  the  subject;  like  the  dor- 
mouse (though  we  may  not  sleep,  which  would 

A    A 


266         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   ENTERPRISE. 

be  tlie  most  desirable  condition  by  far),  we 
wrap  ourselves  up  in  a  sort  of  furry  content 
ment,  since  better  cannot  be,  and  wait  for  the 
times  to  come :  it  was  a  far  other  thing,  to  be 
ever  awake,  waiting  to  rise  and  become  active, 
yet  ever  to  find  that  all  nature  was  still  asleep, 
and  that  we  had  nothing  more  to  do  than  to  wish 
and  groan,  and — ^hope  as  we  best  might." 

How  truly  poetical  his  description  of  human 
feeling  amidst  the  eternal  appearance  of  ice  and 
snow ! — "  When  snow  was  our  decks,  snow  was 
our  awnings,  snow  our  observations,  snow  our 
larders,  snow  our  salt ;  and,  when  all  the  other 
uses  of  snow  should  be  at  last  of  no  more  avail, 
our  coffins  and  our  graves  were  to  be  graves 
and  coffins  of  snow. — Is  this  not  more  than 
enough  of  snow  than  suffices  for  admiration? 
Is  it  not  worse,  that  during  ten  months  in  a 
year  the  ground  is  snow,  and  ice,  and  '  slush ;' 
that  during  the  whole  year  its  tormenting, 
chilling,  odious  presence  is  ever  before  the 
eye?  Who  more  than  I  has  admired  the 
glaciers  of  the  extreme  north?  Who  more 
has  loved  to  contemplate  the  icebergs  sailing 
from   the  Pole  before  the  tide  and  the   gale. 


TRAVELLERS.  267 

floating  along  the  ocean,  through  calm  and 
through  storm,  like  castles  and  towers  and 
mountains,  gorgeous  in  colouring,  and  magni- 
ficent, if  often  capricious,  in  form?  And  have  I, 
too,  not  sought  amid  the  crashing,  and  the  split- 
ting and  the  thundering  roarings  of  asea  of  mov- 
ing mountains,  for  the  sublime,  and  felt  that  na- 
ture could  do  no  more  ?  In  all  this  there  has 
been  beauty,  horror,  danger,  everything  that 
could  excite ;  they  would  have  excited  a  poet 
even  to  the  verge  of  madness.  But  to  see,  to  have 
seen,  ice  and  snow,  to  have  felt  snow  and  ice  for 
ever,  and  nothing  for  ever  but  snow  and  ice,  dur- 
ing all  the  months  of  ayear — to  have  seen  and  felt 
but  uninterrupted  and  unceasing  ice  and  snow 
during  all  the  months  of  four  years — this  it  is 
that  has  made  the  sight  of  those  most  chilling 
and  wearisome  objects  an  evil  which  is  still  one 
in  recollection,  as  if  the  remembrance  would 
never  cease." 

To  bid  farewell  to  his  ship  in  these  regions 
of  deathly  solitariness  must  be  a  trial  of  the 
heart,  even  severer  than  its  sense  of  awe  amid 
icebergs,  or  wearisomencss  with  the  eternal 
snow.     This  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  brave  Ro^8 


268         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

and  his  crew.  Fast  beset  wliere  there  was  no 
prospect  of  release,  they  commenced  carrying- 
forwards  a  certain  quantity  of  provisions,  and 
the  boats  with  their  sledges,  for  the  purpose  of 
advancing  more  easily  afterwards.  The  labour 
of  proceeding  over  ice  and  snow  was  most 
severe,  and  the  wind  and  snow-drift  rendered 
it  almost  intolerable.  On  the  21st  of  May, 
1832,  (for  this  was  during  Sir  John  Ross's 
second  voyage)  all  the  provisions  from  their 
ship,  the  Victory,  had  been  carried  forward  to 
the  several  deposits,  except  as  much  as  would 
serve  for  about  a  month.  In  the  process  of 
forming  these  deposits,  it  was  found  that  they 
had  travelled,  forwards  and  backwards,  three 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  miles  to  gain  about 
thirty  in  a  direct  line.  Preparation  was  now 
made  for  their  final  departure,  which  took 
place  on  the  29th  of  May. 

"  We  had  now,"  continues  the  commander, 
"  secured  everything  on  shore  which  could  be  of 
use  to  us  in  case  of  our  return ;  or  which,  if 
we  could  not,  would  prove  of  use  to  the  natives. 
The  colours  were  therefore  hoisted  and  nailed 
to  the  mast,  we  drank  a  parting  glass  to  our 


TRAVELLERS.  269 

poor  ship,  and  having  seen  every  man  out,  in 
the  evening  I  took  my  own  adieu  of  the  Vic- 
tory, which  had  deserved  a  better  fate.  It  was 
the  first  vessel  that  I  had  ever  been  obliged  to 
abandon,  after  having  served  in  thirty-six, 
during  a  period  of  forty-two  years.  It  was  like 
the  last  parting  with  an  old  friend ;  and  I  did 
not  pass  the  point  where  she  ceased  to  be  visible 
without  stopping  to  take  a  sketch  of  this  melan- 
choly desert — rendered  more  melancholy  by  the 
solitary,  abandoned,  helpless  home  of  our  past 
years,  fixed  in  immovable  ice  till  Time  should 
perform  on  her  his  usual  work." 

After  a  full  month's  most  fatiguing  journey, 
they  encamped  and  constructed  a  canvass- 
covered  house.  This  they  deserted,  and  set 
out  once  more,  but  after  several  weeks'  vain 
attempt  to  reach  navigable  water,  were  com- 
pelled to  return,  "  their  labours  at  an  end,  and 
themselves  once  more  at  home."  Here,  of  the 
provisions  left  behind  them,  flour,  sugar,  soups, 
peas,  vegetables,  pickles,  and  lemon-juice,  were 
in  abundance;  but  of  preserved  meats  there 
remained  not  more  than  would  suffice  for  their 
voyage  in  the  boats  during  the  next  season. 

A  a2 


270         THE   TRIUMPHS    OP    ENTERPRISE. 

A  monotonous  winter  was  spent  in  their  house ; 
and  the  want  o-f  exercise,  of  sufficient  employ- 
ment, short  allowance  of  food,  lowness  of 
spirits,  produced  by  the  unbroken  sight  of  the 
dull,  melancholy,  uniform  waste  of  snow  and 
ice,  had  the  effect  of  reducing  the  whole  party 
to  a  more  indifferent  state  of  health  than  had 
hitherto  been  inexperienced. 

"  We  were  indeed  all  very  weary  of  this  mis- 
erable home,"  says  Sir  John  Ross.  "  Even  the 
storms  were  without  variety:  there  was  no- 
thing to  see  out  of  doors,  even  when  we  could 
face  the  sky ;  and,  within,  it  was  to  look, 
equally,  for  variety  and  employment,  and  to 
find  neither.  If  those  of  the  least  active  minds 
dozed  away  their  time  in  the  waking  stupefac- 
tion which  such  a  state  of  things  produces,  they 
were  the  most  fortunate  of  the  party.  Those 
among  us  who  had  the  enviable  talent  of  sleep- 
ing at  all  times,  whether  they  were  anxious  or 
not,  fared  best." 

At  length,  the  long-looked-for  period  arrived 
when  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  abandon  the 
house,  in  search  of  better  fortune;  and,  on  the 
7th  of  July,  being  Sunday,  the  last  divine  ser- 


TRAVELLERS.  271 

vice  was  performed  in  their  winter  habitation. 
The  following  day  they  bade  adieu  to  it  for 
ever !  and  having  been  detained  a  short  time 
at  Batty  Bay,  and  finding  the  ice  to  separate, 
and  a  lane  of  water  to  open  out  they  succeeded 
in  crossing  over  to  the  eastern  side  of  Prince 
Regent  Inlet.  Standing  along  the  southern 
shore  of  Barrow's  Strait,  on  the  26th  of  August 
they  discovered  a  sail, — and  after  some  tanta- 
lizing delays,  they  succeeded  in  making  them- 
selves visible  to  the  crew  of  one  of  her  boats. 

"  She  was  soon  alongside,'*  proceeds  Sir  John 
Ross,"  when  the  mate  in  command  addi'essed  us, 
by  presuming  that  we  had  met  with  some  mis- 
fortune and  lost  our  ship.  This  being  answered 
in  the  affirmative,  I  requested  to  know  the 
name  of  his  vessel,  and  expressed  our  wish  to 
be  taken  on  board.  I  was  answered  that  it  was 
the  *  Isabella  of  Hull,  once  commanded  by 
Captain  Ross;'  on  which  I  stated  that  I  was 
the  identical  man  in  question,  and  my  people 
the  crew  of  the  Victory.  That  the  mate,  who 
commanded  this  boat  was  as  much  astonished 
at  this  information  as  he  appeared  to  be,  I  do 
not  doubt ;  while,  with  the  usual  blunderhead- 


27^         THE   TRirMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

edness  of  men  on  such  occasions,  lie  assured  me 
that  I  had  been  dead  two  years !  I  easily  con- 
vinced him,  however,  that  what  ought  to  have 
been  true,  according  to  his  estimate,  was  a  some- 
what premature  conclusion;  as  the  bear-like 
form  of  the  whole  set  of  us  might  have  shown 
him,  had  he  taken  time  to  consider  that  we  were 
certainly  not  whaling  gentlemen,  and  that  we 
carried  tolerable  evidence  of  our  being  '  true 
men,  and  no  impostors,'  on  our  backs,  and  in 
our  starved  and  unshaven  countenances.  A 
hearty  congratulation  followed  of  course,  in  the 
true  seaman  style,  and,  after  a  few  natural  en- 
quiries, he  added  that  the  ^  Isabella  was  com- 
manded by  Captain  Humphreys ; '  when  he 
immediately  went  off  in  his  boat  to  communi- 
cate his  information  on  board ;  repeating  that 
we  had  long  been  given  up  as  lost,  not  by  them 
alone,  but  by  all  England. 

''  As  we  approached  slowly  after  him  to  the 
ship,  he  jumped  up  the  side,  and  in  a  minute 
the  rigging  was  manned;  while  we  were  saluted 
with  three  cheers  as  we  came  within  cable's 
length,  and  were  not  long  in  getting  on  board 
of  my  old  vessel,  where  we  were  all  received 


TRAVELLERS.  278 

by  Captain  Humphreys  with  a  hearty  seaman's 
welcome. 

"  Though  we  had  not  been  supported  by  our 
names  and  characters,  we  should  not  the  less 
have  claimed,  from  charity,  the  attentions  that 
we  received,  for  never  was  seen  a  more  miser- 
able-looking set  of  wretches;  while,  that  we 
were  but  a  repulsive-looking  people,  none  of  us 
coidd  doubt.  If,  to  be  poor,  wretchedly  poor, 
as  far  as  all  our  present  property  was  concerned, 
was  to  have  a  claim  on  charity,  no  one  could 
well  deserve  it  more ;  but  if  to  look  so  as  to 
frighten  away  the  so-called  charitable,  no  beggar 
that  wanders  in  Ireland  could  have  outdone  us 
in  exciting  the  repugnance  of  those  who  have  not 
known  what  poverty  can  be.  Unshaven  since 
I  know  not  when,  dirty,  dressed  in  the  rags  of 
wild  beasts  instead  of  the  tatters  of  civilization, 
and  starved  to  the  very  bones,  our  gaunt  and 
grim  looks,  when  contrasted  with  those  of  the 
well  dressed  and  well-fed  men  around  us,  made 
us  all  feel,  I  believe  for  the  first  time,  what  we 
really  were,  as  well  as  what  we  seemed  to 
others.  Poverty  is  without  half  its  mark,  un- 
less it  be  contrasted  with  wealth;  and  what  we 


274         THE   TRlUMrHS   OF    ENTERPRISE. 

might  have  known  to  be  true  in  the  past  days, 
we  had  forgotten  to  think  of,  till  we  were  thus 
reminded  of  what  we  truly  were,  as  well  as 
seemed  to  be. 

"But  the  ludicrous  soon  took  place  of  all  other 
feelings ;  in  such  a  crowd  and  such  confusion 
all  serious  thought  was  impossible,  while  the 
new  buoyancy  of  our  spirits  made  us  abundantly 
willing  to  be  amused  by  the  scene  which  now 
opened.  Every  man  was  hungry  and  was  to 
be  fed,  all  were  ragged  and  were  to  be  clothed, 
there  was  not  one  to  whom  washing  was  not 
indispensable,  nor  one  whom  his  beard  did  not 
deprive  of  all  English  semblance.  All,  every- 
thing, too,  was  to  be  done  at  once ;  it  was  wash- 
ing, dressing,  shaving,  eating,  all  intermingled; 
it  was  all  the  materials  of  each  jumbled  to- 
gether; while,  in  the  midst  of  all,  there  were 
interminable  questions  to  be  asked  and  an- 
swered on  all  sides ;  the  adventures  of  the  Vic- 
tory, our  own  escapes,  the  politics  of  England, 
and  the  news  which  was  now  four  years  old. 
But  all  subsided  into  peace  at  last.  The  sick 
were  accommodated,  the  seamen  disposed  of, 
and  all  was  done,  for  all  of  us,  which  care  and 


TRAVELLERS.  ftrfS 

kindness  could  perform.  Night,  at  length, 
brought  quiet  and  serious  thoughts;  and  I 
trust  there  was  not  one  man  among  us  who  did 
not  then  express,  where  it  was  due,  his  grati- 
tude for  that  interposition  which  had  raised  us 
all  from  a  despair  which  none  could  now  for- 
get, and  had  brought  us  from  the  very  borders 
of  a  not  distant  grave,  to  life,  and  friends,  and 
civilization. 

"  Long  accustomed,  however,  to  a  cold  bed 
on  the  hard  snow  or  the  bare  rock,  few  could 
sleep  amid  the  comfort  of  our  new  accommoda- 
tions. I  was  myself  compelled  to  leave  the  bed 
which  had  been  kindly  assigned  me,  and  take 
my  abode  in  a  chair  for  the  night,  nor  did  it 
fare  much  better  with  the  rest.  It  was  for  time 
to  reconcile  us  to  this  sudden  and  violent  change, 
to  break  through  what  had  become  habit,  and 
to  inure  us  once  more  to  the  usages  of  our 
former  days." 

As  a  curious  contrast  to  these  exciting  de- 
scriptions of  danger,  we  wiU  sketch,  in  as  com- 
pact a  form  as  possible,  the  first  voyage  round 
the  world  performed  by  an  Englishman — namely, 
our  illustrious  countryman.  Sir  Francis  Drake. 


S76        THE   TRIUMPHS   OP   ENTERPRISE- 

Queen  Elizabeth,  on  presenting  a  sword  to 
the  commander  of  a  secret  expedition  said, 
"  We  do  account  that  he  which  striketh  at 
thee,  Drake,  striketh  at  us.*'  His  fleet  con- 
sisted of  five  ships,  the  Pelican,  of  120  tons 
hurthen,  the  Elizabeth,  a  bark  of  80  tons,  the 
Swan,  a  flyboat  of  50  tons,  the  Marygold,  a 
barque  of  30  tons,  and  the  Christopher,  a 
pinnace  of  15  tons,  and  was  ostensibly  fitted 
out  for  a  trading  voyage  to  Alexandria;  though 
this  pretence  did  not  deceive  the  watchful 
Spaniards.  Drake,  like  Columbus  and  Cook, 
chose  small  ships  as  better  fitted  to  thread 
narrow  and  difficult  channels.  The  crews  of 
his  little  squadron  amounted  to  one  hundred 
and  sixty  men;  an  old  author  says  that  he 
did  not  omit  "  provision  for  ornament  and 
delight,  carrying  with  him  expert  musicians, 
rich  furniture,  (all  the  vessels  for  his  table, 
yea,  many  belonging  to  his  cook-room,  being 
of  pure  silver,)  with  divers  shows  of  all  sorts 
of  curious  workmanship,  whereby  the  civility 
and  magnificence  of  his  native  country  might, 
among  all  nations  whither  he  should  come,  be 
the  more  admired. 


TRAVELLERS.  277 

Although  it  is  likely  that  the  intrepid  resolve 
of  crossing  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  not  originally 
formed  by  Drake,  and  only  entered  into  from 
circumstances  in  which  he  was  afterwards 
placed,  he  is  not  the  less  entitled  to  the  praise 
so  often  given  him  for  penetrating,  with  so 
small  a  force,  the  channel  explored  by  Magellan, 
and  known  by  his  name.  The  passage  through 
the  Straits  of  Magellan  had  long  been  aban- 
doned by  the  Spaniards,  and  a  superstition  had 
arisen  against  adventuring  into  the  Pacific  as 
likely  to  prove  fatal  to  any  who  are  engaged 
in  the  discovery,  or  even  in  the  navigation  of 
its  waters. 

Drake  was  at  first  driven  back  by  a  violent 
storm,  but  unintimidated  by  this  adverse  augury, 
he  finally  set  sail  from  Plymouth,  on  the  13th 
of  December,  1577.  On  Christmas-day  they 
reached  Cape  Cantin,  on  the  coast  of  Barbary, 
and  on  the  27th  found  a  safe  and  commodious 
harbour  in  Mogadore.  Here  Drake  had  some 
unpleasant  transactions  with  Muley  Moloc,  the 
celebrated  king  of  the  Moors ;  but  sailed  again 
on  the  last  day  of  the  year.  The  less  important 
places  touched  at  in  the  succeeding  part  of  the 

B    B 


278         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

voyage  were,  Cape  Blanco,  the  isles  of  Mayo 
and  San  Jago,  and  the  "  Isla  del  Fogo,"  or 
Burning  Island,  together  with  "  Ilba  Brava," 
or  the  Brave  Island.  The  equinoctial  line  is 
afterwards  crossed,  amidst  alternate  calms  and 
tempest:  they  are  supplied  with  fresh  water  by 
copious  rains  ;  and  they  also  catch  dolphins, 
bonitos,  and  ilying-fish,  which  fell  on  the  decks, 
"  where  hence,"  says  the  invaluable  Hakluyt, 
"  they  could  not  rise  againe  for  want  of  mois- 
ture, for  when  their  wings  are  drie  they  can- 
not flie."  At  length,  on  the  5th  of  April,  they 
had  fully  voyaged  across  the  wide  Atlantic, 
and  made  the  coast  of  Brazil,  in  31°  30'  south 
latitude.  They  saw  the  natives  raising  fires  on 
the  shore,  beheld  troops  of  wild  deer,  "  large 
and  mightie,"  and  saw  the  foot-prints  of  men 
of  large  stature  on  the  beach.  On  the  15th  of 
they  same  month  they  anchored  in  the  great 
River  Plate,  where  they  killed  "  certaine  sea- 
wolves,  commonly  called  scales."  They  thus 
secured  a  new  supply  of  fresh  provisions,  and, 
shortly  after,  of  fresh  water. 

On  the  27th  they  again  stood  out  to  sea,  and 
steered  southward.     The  Swan  was  outsailed 


TRAVELLERS.  £T9 

by  the  rest  of  the  little  fleet,  and  also  the  Mary, 
a  very  small  Portuguese  vessel,  or  caunter, 
which  they  had  taken  in  their  course.  On  the 
12th  of  May,  Drake  anchored  within  view  of  a 
headland,  and,  the  next  morning  went  in  a 
boat  to  the  shore.  Here,  he  was  in  some 
danger,  for  a  thick  fog  came  on  and  shut  him 
from  the  view  of  the  vessels.  A  gale  also  arose 
and  drove  them  out  to  sea.  Fires  were  at  length 
lighted,  and  all  the  vessels,  save  the  Swan  and 
the  Mary,  were  again  collected  together.  Fifty 
di'ied  ostriches,  besides  other  fowls,  are  related 
to  have  been  here  found  deposited  by  the 
savages ;  and  of  this  store  the  ships'  crews  took 
possession.  Upwards  of  two  hundred  seals  were 
also  taken  and  slaughtered;  and  while  a  party 
was  filling  water-casks,  killing  seals,  and  salt- 
ing fowls  for  future  provision,  Drake  himself 
set  sail  in  the  Pelican,  and  Captain  Winter  in 
the  Elizabeth,  each  on  different  tacks  in  search 
of  the  Swan  and  the  Mary.  Drake  soon  found 
the  Swan,  and,  to  diminish  the  cares  and  haz- 
ards of  the  voyage,  removed  all  her  stores,  and 
then  broke  her  up  for  firewood. 

The  place  of  rendezvous  was  named  Seal 


280         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

Bay,  and  some  highly  interesting  accounts  of  in- 
terviews with  the  savage  native  tribes,  during 
their  stay  here,  are  given  in  Hakluyt.  On  the 
3rd  of  June,  they  set  sail, once  more;  on  the  19th 
they  found  the  missing  Portuguese  prize,  the 
Mary;  and  the  next  day  the  whole  squadron 
moored  in  Port  San  Julian,  latitude  49''  30'  S. 

A  very  perilous  squabble  took  place  here 
with  the  native  Patagonians.  A  gunner  be- 
longing to  the  crew  was  shot  through  with  an 
arrow,  and  died  on  the  spot,  and  Robert  Win- 
ter, relative  of  the  officer  above-mentioned,  was 
wounded,  and  died,  in  consequence,  shortly 
afterwards. — The  stature  of  these  tribes  has 
been  the  subject  of  dispute  from  the  time  of 
Magellan  to  our  own.  An  old  author,  in 
Hakluyt,  says,  "  These  men  be  of  no  such 
stature  as  the  Spaniardes  report,  being  but  of 
the  height  of  Englishmen:  for  I  have  scene 
men  in  England  taller  than  I  could  see  any 
of  them.  But  peradventure  the  Spaniard  did 
not  thinke  that  any  Englishmen  would  have 
come  thither  so  soone  to  have  disproved  them 
in  this  and   divers   others  of  their   notorious 


TRAVELLERS.  281 

lies."  Another  author,  however,  makes  the 
Patagonians  seven  feet  and  a  half  in  height. 

An  event  occurred  while  the  fleet  lay  at  Port 
San  Julian,  which  has  cast  a  deep  shade  of 
suspicion  over  the  character  of  Drake.  This 
was  the  execution  of  Thomas  Doughty,  accused 
of  mutiny  and  a  conspiracy  to  massacre  Drake 
and  the  principal  officers.  We  leave  the  young 
reader  to  investigate  the  matter  in  other  works; 
and  proceed  with  our  abridged  narrative. 

After  breaking  up  the  Portuguese  prize,  and 
reducing  the  number  of  ships  to  three,  they 
again  set  sail  on  the  17th  of  August, — the 
weather  being  colder  than  midwinter  in  Britain, 
— and  on  the  24th  anchored  thirty  leagues 
within  the  Strait  of  Magellan.  Here  Drake 
changed  the  name  of  his  ship,  the  Pelican,  to 
"  the  Golden  Hind,"  in  compliment  to  his 
friend.  Sir  Christopher  Hatton,  in  whose  es- 
cutcheon the  golden  hind  is  said  to  have  had 
a  place.  While  passing  through  the  strait, 
which  they  computed  to  be  110  leagues  in 
length,  they  noted  that  the  width  varied  from 
one  league  to  four,  that  the  tide  set  in  from 
each   end   of  the   strait,    and   met   about  the 

h  B  2 


S82        THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

middle,  and  they  also  killed  3,000  "  of  birds 
having  no  wings,  but  short  pineons  which 
serve  their  turne  in  swimming."  These  pen- 
guins, as  they  undoubtedly  were,  are  also  de- 
scribed as  being  "  fat  as  an  English  goose." 

On  the  6th  of  September,  1578,  Drake  and 
his  gallant  crew  sailed  their  ships  on  the  great 
Pacific.  Magellan  had  passed  through  the  strait 
in  1520 ;  and  but  two  other  voyagers  had  per- 
formed the  passage  after  Magellan,  and  before 
Drake. 

A  north-east  passage  was  one  main  object 
contemplated  by  Drake;  and  accordingly,  on 
clearing  the  strait,  he  held  a  north-west  course, 
and  in  two  days  the  fleet  advanced  seventy 
leagues.  A  violent  gale  from  the  north-east, 
now  drove  them  into  57°  south  latitude,  and 
200  leagues  to  the  west.  Under  bare  poles 
they  scudded  before  the  tempest,  and  observed 
an  eclipse  of  the  moon  on  the  15th  of  Septem- 
ber. "  But,"  says  a  narrator,  in  Hakluyt, "  Ney- 
ther  did  the  eclipticall  conflict  of  the  moon 
impayre  our  state,  nor  her  clearing  againe 
amend  us  a  whit,  but  the  accustomed  eclipse  of 
the  sea  continued  in  his  force,  wee  being  dark- 


TRAVELLFRS.  283 

ened  more  than  the  moone  sevenfold."  After  a 
short  season  of  moderate  weather,  another  tem- 
pest separated  from  them  the  ship  Mary  gold, 
and  she  was  never  more  heard  of.  The  Golden 
Hind  and  Elizabeth  were  now  left  to  pursue 
(he  voyage.  But  on  being  driven  back  to  th 
western  entrance  of  the  Strait,  Winter,  the 
commander  of  the  Elizabeth,  heartily  tired  of 
the  voyage,  slipped  away  from  Drake,  and  re- 
turned to  England.  He  reached  this  country 
in  June,  1579,  with  the  credit  of  having 
achieved  the  navigation  of  the  Straits  of  Ma- 
gellan, but  with  the  shame  of  having  deserted 
his  commander. 

The  gallant  Drake,  in  the  Golden  Hind,  had 
stormy  weather  to  encounter  for  some  time 
after,  and  was  driven  so  far  south  as  to  anchor 
in  a  creek  at  Cape  Horn,  and  thus  became  the 
discoverer  of  that  southern  point  of  the  entire 
continent  of  America. 

The  wind  changing  he  steered  northwards, 
and  on  the  25th  of  November,  1578,  anchored 
near  the  coast  of  Chili,  where  he  had  another 
collision  with  the  natives  and  lost  two  of  his 
men.     Soon   afterwards    they   fell   in   with   a 


284  THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

people  of  more  friendly  manners,  and  learned 
that  tliey  had  oversailed  Valparaiso,  the  port 
of  San  Jago,  where  a  Spanish  ship  lay  at 
anchor.  They  put  back,  and  took  the  ship, 
called  "  the  Grand  Captain  of  the  South,"  in 
which  were  60,000  pesos  of  gold,  besides  jewels, 
merchandise,  and  a  good  store  of  Chili  wine. 
Each  peso  was  valued  at  eight  shillings.  They 
rejoiced  over  their  plunder;  but  in  our  own 
times,  such  an  act  would  be  deemed  a  piracy. 
Nine  families  inhabited  Valparaiso,  but  they 
fled,  and  the  English  revelled  in  the  pillage  of 
wine,  bread,  bacon,  and  other  luxuries  to  men 
long  accustomed  to  hard  fare.  They  plundered 
the  church  also  of  a  silver  chalice,  two  cruets, 
and  an  altar-cloth,  and  presented  them  to  the 
chaplain  of  the  vessel. 

On  the  19th  of  January,  1579,  after  some 
period  of  rest  in  a  harbour,  they  pursued  their 
voyage  along  the  coast,  and  accidentally  land- 
ing at  Tarapaza,  they  found  a  Spaniard  asleep 
on  the  shore,  with  thirteen  bars  of  silver  lying 
beside  him.  "  We  took  the  silver,  and  left  the 
man,"  says  the  relator.  A  little  farther  on,  a 
party  which  was  sent  ashore  to  procure  water. 


TRAVELLERS. 


285 


fell  in  with  a  Spaniard  and  a  native  boy  driving 
eighty  llamas,  each  of  which  was  laden  with  two 
leathern  bags,  containing  fifty  pounds  of  silver, 
or  eight  hundred  in  all.  They  not  only  took 
on  board  the  llamas  and  the  silver,  but  soon 
after  fell  in  with  three  small  barks  quite  empty, 
(the  crews  being  on  shore),  save  that  they 
found  in  them  fifty-seven  wedges  of  silver,  each 
weighing  twenty  pounds.  They  took  the  silver 
and  set  the  barks  adrift.  After  some  other 
trifling  adventures  they  learned  that  the  Caca- 
fuego,  a  ship  laden  with  gold  and  silver  had 
just  sailed  for  Panama,  the  point  whence  all 
goods  were  carried  by  the  Spaniards  across  the 
isthmus.  Away  they  bore  in  search  of  this 
ship;  but  were  near  being  overtaken  by  a 
superior  force  of  Spaniards  in  two  ships.  Es- 
caping, they  passed  Payta,  and  learned  that  the 
Cacafuego  had  the  start  of  them  but  two  days. 
Tt^jo  other  vessels  were  next  taken,  with  some 
silver,  eighty  pounds  of  gold,  and  a  golden 
crucifix  "  with  goodly  great  emerauds  set  in 
it."  The  Cacafuego  was,  at  length,  overtaken 
and  captured:  the  ship  contained  twenty-six 
tons  of  silver,  thirteen  chests  of  rials  of  plate. 


286         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

and  eighty  pounds  of  gold,  besides  diamonds 
and  inferior  gems, — the  whole  estimated  at 
360,000  pesos.  The  uncoined  silver,  alone, 
found  in  the  vessel  may  be  estimated  at 
£212,000,  at  five  shillings  an  ounce. 

It  seems  questionable  whether,  when  thus 
richly  laden,  Drake  would  have  thought  of 
encompassing  the  globe,  if  he  could  have  as- 
sured himself  of  a  safe  voyage  to  England  by 
returning  through  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  He 
knew  that  the  Spaniards  would  be  on  the  alert 
to  recover  the  treasure,  and  so  resolved  to  seek 
a  north-east  passage  homeward.  After  remain- 
ing  a  short  time  in  a  safe  harbour  to  repair  the 
ship,  he  commenced  the  voyage  once  more. 
Delays  were  made  for  plunder  and  prize- 
taking,  until  the  26th  of  April,  when  Drake 
stood  boldly  out  to  sea;  and,  by  the  8rd  of 
June,  had  sailed  1,400  leagues,  on  different 
courses,  without  seeing  land.  He  had  now 
reached  42°  north  latitude  and  the  cold  was  felt 
severely.  On  the  5th,  being  driven  by  a  gale, 
land  was  seen  to  the  surprise  of  Drake  who  had 
not  calculated  that  the  continent  stretched  so 


TRAVELLERS.  287 

far  westward.  The  adventurers  were  now  coast- 
ing the  western  margin  of  California. 

They  anchored,  at  length,  in  38°  30'  north 
latitude,  and  were  soon  surrounded  with  native 
Indians,  who,  among  other  remarkable  things, 
offered  them  tabah,  or  tobacco.  Drake  spent 
thirty-six  days  here,  for  completing  the  repairs 
of  his  ship;  took  possession  of  the  country, 
formally,  by  erecting  a  monument  and  fixing  a 
brass  plate  upon  it,  bearing  the  name,  effigy 
and  arms  of  Queen  Elizabeth;  and  called  the 
country  New  Albion.  To  the  port  in  which 
they  had  anchored  he  gave  his  own  name ;  and, 
on  the  23rd  of  July  bore  away,  direct  west  as 
possible,  across  the  Pacific,  with  the  intent  to 
reach  England  by  India  and  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope. 

No  land  was  seen  by  the  gallant  men  on  board 
this  little  ship  for  sixty-eight  days.  On  the  30th 
of  September  they  fell  in  with  some  islands  in 
8°  north  latitude,  which  they  termed  the  Isles 
of  Tliieves,  from  the  dishonest  disposition  of 
the  natives.  On  the  16th  of  October,  they 
reached  the  Philippines,  and  anchored  at  ^lin- 
danao.    On  the  3rd  of  November  the  Molu(5cas 


288         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

were  seen,  and  they  soon  anchored  before  the 
chief  to"WTi  of  Ternate,  entered  into  civil  gossip 
with  the  natives,  and  were  visited  by  the  king, 
"  a  true  gentleman  Pagan."  Among  the  pre- 
sents received  from  this  royal  person,  were 
fowls,  rice,  sugar,  cloves,  figo,  and  "  a  sort  of 
meale  which  they  call  sagu,  made  of  the  tops  of 
certaine  trees,  tasting  in  the  mouth  like  soure 
curds,  but  melteth  like  sugar,  whereof  they 
make  certaine  cakes,  which  may  be  kept  the 
space  of  ten  yeeres,  and  yet  then  good  to  be 
eaten."  Brilliant  offers  were  made  by  the 
Sultan  of  Ternate ;  but  Drake  was  shy  of  them, 
and  on  the  9th  of  November,  having  taken  in  a 
large  quantity  of  cloves,  the  Golden  Hind  left 
the  Moluccas. 

On  the  14th  they  anchored  near  the  eastern 
part  of  Celebes,  and  finding  the  land  uninha- 
bited and  abundant  in  forests,  they  determined 
there  fully  to  repair  the  ship  for  her  voyage 
home.  "  Throughout  the  groves,"  say  the  old 
writers  in  Purchas  and  Hakluyt,  '^  there  flick- 
ered innumerable  bats  ^  asbigge  as  large  hennes.' 
There  were  also  multitudes  of  '  fiery  wormes 
flying  in  the  ayre,'  no  larger  than  the  common 


TRAVELLERS.  289 

fly  in  England,  which,  skimming  up  and  down 
between  woods  and  bushes,  made  "  such  a  shew 
and  light,  as  if  every  twigge  or  tree  had  bene  a 
burning  candle."  They  likewise  saw  great 
numbers  of  land-crabs,  or  cray-fish,  "  of  ex- 
ceeding bignesse,  one  whereof  was  sufficient 
for  foure  hungry  stomackes  at  a  dinner,  being 
also  very  good  and  restoring  meat,  whereof 
wee  had  experience ;  and  they  digge  themselves 
holes  in  the  earth  like  conies." 

On  the  12th  of  December  they  again  set  sail ; 
but  now  came  their  great  peril.  After  being  en- 
tangled in  shoals  among  the  Spice  Islands  for 
some  days,  in  the  night  of  the  9th  of  January, 
1 580,  the  Golden  Hind  struck  on  a  rock.  No  leak 
appeared;  but  the  ship  was  immovable.  The  ebb 
tide  left  her  in  but  six  feet  water,while,so  deeply 
was  she  laden  that  it  required  thirteen  feet  of 
water  to  float  her.  Eight  guns,  three  tons  of  cloves, 
and  a  quantity  of  meal  were  thrown  overboard, 
but  this  did  not  relieve  the  ship.    "  We  stucke 
fast,"  says  the   narrator  in  Hakluyt,   "  from 
eight  of  the  clocke  at  night  til  foure  of   the 
clocke  in  the  afternoone  the  next  day,  being 
indeede  out  of  all  hope  to  escape  the  danger ; 

c  c 


290  THE    TRIUMPHS    OF   ENTERPRISE. 

but  our  generall,  as  he  had  alwayes  hitherto 
shewed  himself  couragious,  and  of  a  good  con* 
fidence  in  the  mercie  and  protection  of  God,  so 
now  he  continued  in  the  same;  and  lest  he 
should  seeme  to  perish  wilfully,  both  hee  and 
wee  did  our  best  indevour  to  save  ourselves, 
which  it  pleased  God  so  to  blesse,  that  in  the 
ende  we  cleared  ourselves  most  happily  of  the 
danger." 

Their  ship  in  deep  water  once  more,  they 
reached  the  Isle  of  Barateve,  on  the  8th  of 
February,  and  were  kindly  and  handsomely 
treated  by  the  inhabitants.  Java  was  reached 
on  the  12th  of  March,  and  here,  again,  they 
were  generously  received.  On  the  26th  they 
left  Java,  and  did  not  again  see  land  till  they 
passed  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  on  the  15th  of 
June.  The  Portuguese  being  acquaintances 
Drake  did  not  wish,  just  then,  to  meet,  he  did 
not  land  at  the  Cape,  but  steered  away  north, 
and,  on  the  22nd  of  July,  arrived  at  Sierra 
Leone.  Finally,  on  the  26th  of  September, 
1580,  after  an  absence  of  two  years  and  ten 
months,  he  came  to  anchor  in  the  harbour  of 
Plymouth. 


TRAVELLERS.  991 

The  riches  he  had  brought  home,  the  daring 
bravery  he  had  displayed,  the  perils  undergone, 
the  marvels  told  of  the  strange  countries  visited, 
made  Drake  the  idol  of  the  whole  English 
people.  On  the  4th  of  April,  1581,  Queen 
Elizabeth  went. in  state  to  dine  on  board  the 
Golden  Hind,  then  lying  at  Deptford.  After 
the  banquet  she  knighted  the  gallant  circum- 
navigator ;  and  also  gave  orders  that  his  vessel 
should  be  preserved  as  a  monument  of  the  glory 
of  the  nation  and  of  the  illustrious  voyager. 


292         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 


€Wtx  t\t  imtt\. 


One  path  of  Enterprise  belongs  distinctly  to 
modern  adventurers :  the  search,  after  inte- 
resting remains  of  antiquity,  and  investigation 
of  their  present  actual  condition.  Such  enter- 
prises of  discovery  have  often  their  source  in  a 
love  of  Art  which  can  only  exist  in  the  most 
cultivated  minds.  In  other  instances  they  arise 
from  a  laudable  desire  to  verify  ancient  history, 
and  thus  serve  the  highly  important  purpose  of 
confirming  that  branch  of  human  knowledge 
which  has  hitherto  depended  simply  on  the 
testimony  of  written  tradition. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  contributor  to  certain 
knowledge  in  this  department  of  enterprise  and 
discovery,  was  the  celebrated  Belzoni ;  though 
our  acquaintance  with  the  time-honoured  and 


TRAVELLERS.  293 

mysterious  monuments  of  Egypt  has  been  en- 
larged by  many  other  travellers.  Greece  has 
also  had  her  distinguished  list  of  antiquarian 
explorers ;  and  the  glowing  lands  of  the  East, 
80  famous  in  sacred  and  profane  story,  have 
been  visited  by  numerous  travellers,  each  and 
all  ardent  to  survey  and  report  the  present  con- 
dition of  the  diversified  monuments  of  human 
skill  and  strength  existing  in  the  primeval 
countries  of  our  race. 

Every  youthful  visitor  to  the  British  Museum 
will  be  interested  with  the  beautiful  black 
granite  statue  so  well  known  as  "  the  young 
Memnon."  Near  the  left  foot  of  this  gigantic 
sitting  figure  will  be  found  the  name  of  Bclzoni, 
cut  by  his  own  hand.  Burckhardt  and  Salt  were 
the  enterprising  and  disinterested  persons  who 
paid  the  expenses  of  conveying  this  massive 
piece  of  ancient  sculpture  to  Alexandria:  Bel- 
zoni  and  his  assistants  undertook  the  immense 
labour. 

It  was  amidst  the  ruins  of  Thebes,  old  Ho- 
mer's "  city  of  the  hundred  gates,*'  that  this 
far-famed  statue  of  an  old  Egyptian  king  had 
long  lain.     His  wonder  at  entering  this  ruined 

CO  2 


^94         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

metropolis,  is  thus  described  by  Belzoni.  "  We 
saw  for  the  first  time  the  ruins  of  great  Thebes, 
and  landed  at  Luxor.  Here  I  beg  the  reader 
to  observe,  that  but  very  imperfect  ideas  can 
be  formed  of  the  extensive  ruins  of  Thebes, 
even  from  the  accounts  of  the  most  skilful  and 
accurate  travellers.  It  is  absolutely  impossible 
to  imagine  the  scene  displayed,  without  seeing 
it.  The  most  sublime  ideas  that  can  be  formed 
from  the  most  magnificent  specimens  of  our  pre- 
sent architecture  would  give  a  very  incorrect 
picture  of  these  ruins ;  for  such  is  the  differ- 
ence, not  only  in  magnitude,  but  in  form,  pro- 
portion and  construction,  that  even  the  pencil 
can  convey  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  whole.  It 
appeared  to  me  like  entering  a  city  of  giants 
who,  after  a  long  conflict,  were  all  destroyed, 
leaving  the  ruins  of  their  various  temples  as 
the  only  proofs  of  their  former  existence.  The 
temple  of  Luxor  presents  to  the  traveller  at 
once  one  of  the  most  splendid  groups  of 
Egyptian  grandeur.  The  extensive  propylaeon, 
with  the  two  obelisks,  and  colossal  statues  in 
the  front;  the  thick  groups  of  enormous 
columns;  the    variety  of  apartments    and  the 


TRAVELLERS.  295 

sanctuary  it  contains ;  the  beautiful  ornaments 
which  adorn  every  part  of  the  walls  and 
columns ;  cause,  in  the  astonished  traveller,  an 
oblivion  of  aU  that  he  has  seen  before.  If  his 
attention  be  attracted  to  the  north  side  of 
Thebes  by  the  towering  remains  that  project  a 
great  height  above  the  wood  of  palm  trees,  he 
will  gradually  enter  that  forest-like  assemblage 
of  ruins  of  temples,  columns,  obelisks,  colossi, 
sphynxes,  portals,  and  an  endless  number  of 
other  astonishing  objects,  that  will  convince 
him  at  once  of  the  impossibility  of  a  descrip- 
tion. On  the  west  side  of  the  Nile,  still  the 
traveller  finds  himself  among  wonders.  The 
temples  of  Gournou,  Memnonium,  and  Medinet 
Aboo,  attest  the  extent  of  the  great  city  on  this 
side.  The  unrivalled  colossal  figures  in  the  plain 
of  Thebes,  the  number  of  tombs  excavated  in  the 
rocks,  those  in  the  great  valley  of  the  kings, 
with  their  paintings,  sculptures,  mummies, 
sarcophagi,  figures,  &c.,  are  all  objects  worthy 
of  the  admiration  of  the  traveller,  who  will  not 
fail  to  wonder  how  a  nation,  which  was  once 
so  great  as  to  erect  these  stupendous  edifices, 
could  so  far  fall  into  oblivion  that  even  their 


296         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   ENTERPRISE. 

language    and    writing    are   totally   unknown 
to  us." 

The  bust  of  Memnon,  tlie  immediate  object 
of  Belzoni's  research,  soon  caught  his  eye.  It 
was  lying  with  its  face  upwards,  and  "  ap- 
parently smiling  on  me/'  says  Belzoni,  "  at  the 
thought  of  being  taken  to  England."  Among 
a  semi -barbarous  people  like  the  Arabs,  the 
discoverer  had  a  thousand  difficulties  to  over- 
come before  he  could  succeed  in  moving  this 
bust  of  ten  or  twelve  tons  weight  one  inch  from 
its  bed  of  sand.  The  chiefs  eyed  him  with 
jealousy,  and  conceived,  as  usual,  that  he  came 
in  quest  of  hidden  treasures;  and  the  Fellahs 
were  with  difficulty  set  to  work,  having  made 
up  their  minds  that  it  was  a  hopeless  task. 
When  these  simple  people  saw  it  first  move, 
they  all  set  up  a  loud  shout,  declaring  it  was 
not  their  exertions,  but  the  power  of  the  devil, 
that  had  effected  it.  The  enormous  mass  was 
put  in  motion  by  a  few  poles  and  palm-leaf 
ropes,  all  the  means  which  they  could  com- 
mand, and  which  nothing  but  the  ingenuity  of 
Belzoni  could  have  made  efficient.  But  these 
materials,  poor  as  they  were,  created  not  half 


TRAVELLERS.  297 

the  difficulty  and  delay  occasioned  by  the  in- 
trigues of  the  Cachefs  and  Kaimakans,  all  of 
whom  were  desirous  of  extorting  as  much 
money  as  they  possibly  could,  and  of  obstruct- 
ing the  progress  of  the  work,  as  the  surest 
means  of  effecting  their  purpose.  Even  the 
labourers,  on  finding  that  money  was  given  to 
them  for  removing  a  mere  mass  of  stone,  took 
it  into  their  heads  that  it  must  be  filled  with 
gold,  and  agreed  that  so  precious  an  article 
ought  not  to  be  taken  out  of  the  country. 
Belzoni  succeeded,  however,  in  allaying  these 
ridiculous  imaginings,  and  eighteen  days  after 
the  commencement  of  the  operation  the  colossal 
bust  reached  the  banks  of  the  Nile.  One  day 
was  consumed  in  embarking  it;  and  after  a 
voyage  of  hazard  among  the  cataracts  of  the 
Nile,  the  illustrious  traveller  reached  Cairo 
with  his  prize.  From  thence  he  conveyed  it 
to  Alexandria,  and  lodged  it  in  the  Pasha's 
magazine:  he  then  returned  to  Cairo;  and  ac- 
companied by  Mr.  Beechy,  immediately  pro- 
ceeded up  the  Nile,  with  the  determination,  if 
possible,  to  accomplish  the  opening  of  the  great 


298         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   ENTERPRISE. 

temple  of  Ipsambul — a  labour  he  had  com- 
menced but  a  short  time  before. 

This  grand  and  gigantic  relic  of  antiquity 
was  discovered  and  brought  into  notice  by  the 
lamented  Burckhardt,  but  when  Belzoni  first 
approached  it,  the  accumulation  of  sand  was 
such,  "  that  it  appeared  an  impossibility  ever 
to  reach  the  door."  The  exact  spot  where  he 
had  fixed  the  entrance  to  be,  was  determined 
in  his  own  mind  from  observing  the  head  of  a 
hawk,  of  such  a  monstrous  size  that,  with  the 
body,  it  could  not  be  less  than  twenty  feet 
high.  This  bird  he  concluded  to  be  over  the 
doorway;  and  as  below  the  figure  there  is 
generally  a  vacant  space,  followed  by  a  frieze 
and  cornice,  he  calculated  the  upper  part  of  the 
doorway  to  be  about  thirty-five  feet  below  the 
summit  of  the  sand. 

Having  succeeded  in  procuring,  for  hire, 
from  one  of  the  cachefs,  as  many  labourers  as  he 
could  afford  to  employ,  Belzoni  set  about  clear- 
ing away  the  sand  from  the  front  of  the  temple. 
The  only  condition  made  with  the  cachef  was, 
that  all  the  gold  and  jewels  found  in  it  should 


TRAVELLERS.  1899 

belong  to  him,  as  chief  of  the  country,  and  that 
Belzoni  should  have  all  the  stones.  At  the 
end  of  four  or  five  days  his  funds  were  en- 
tirely exhausted ;  he,  therefore,  after  obtain- 
ing a  promise  from  the  chief  that  no  one  should 
molest  the  work  in  his  absence,  resumed  his 
search  for  other  antiquities ;  and,  after  convey- 
ing the  Memnon  to  Alexandria,  and  being 
joined  by  Mr.  Beechy  at  Cairo,  met,  at  Philaj, 
with  Captains  Irby  and  Mangles  of  the  British 
Navy,  and  was  joined  also  by  them. 

Having  conciliated  the  cachefs  by  suitable 
presents,  they  agreed  to  give  the  workmen, 
who  were  eighty  in  number,  three  hundred 
piastres  for  removing  the  sand  as  low  down  as 
the  entrance.  At  first  they  seemed  to  set  about 
the  task  like  men  who  were  determined  to 
finish  the  job ;  but,  at  the  end  of  the  third  day 
they  all  grew  tired,  and  "  under  the  pretext 
that  the  E-hamadan  was  to  commence  on  the 
next  day,  they  left  us,"  say  Belzoni,  "  with  the 
temple,  the  sand  and  the  treasure,  and  con- 
tented themselves  with  keeping  the  three  hun- 
dred piastres." 

The  travellers  were  now  convinced  that,  if 


300         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

the  temple  was  to  be  opened  at  all,  it  must  be 
by  their  own  exertions;  and,  accordingly,  as- 
sisted by  the  crew  of  the  boat,  they  set  to  work, 
and,  by  dint  of  perseverance  and  hard  labour, 
for  about  eighteen  days,  they  arrived  at  the 
door-way  of  that  temple,  which  had,  in  all 
probability  been  covered  with  sand  two  thou- 
sand years,  and  which  proved  to  be  the  finest 
and  most  extensive  in  Nubia.  Belzoni  thus 
describes  the  exterior  of  the  temple  of  Ip- 
sambul. 

'^  The  outside  of  this  temple  is  magnificent. 
It  is  a  hundred  and  seventeen  feet  wide,  and 
eighty-six  feet  high :  the  height  from  the  top 
of  the  cornice  to  the  top  of  the  door  being 
sixty-six  feet  six  inches,  and  the  height  of  the 
door  twenty  feet.  There  are  four  enormous 
sitting  colossi,  the  largest  in  Egypt  or  Nubia, 
except  the  great  sphinx  at  the  pyramids,  to 
which  they  approach  in  the  proportion  of  nearly 
two-thirds.  From  the  shoulder  to  the  elbow 
they  measure  fifteen  feet  six  inches ;  the  ears 
three  feet  six  inches ;  the  face  seven  feet ;  the 
beard  five  feet  six  inches ;  across  the  shoulders 
twenty-five  feet   four  inches;  their   height  is 


TRAVELLERS.  301 

about  fifty-one  feet,  not  including  the  caps, 
which  are  about  fourteen  feet. 

**  There  are  only  two  of  these  colossi  in  sight, 
one  is  still  buried  under  the  sand,  and  the 
other,  which  is  near  the  door,  is  half  fallen 
down,  and  buried  also.  On  the  top  of  the  door 
is  a  colossal  figure  of  Osiris  twenty  feet  high, 
with  two  colossal  hieroglyphic  figures,  one  on 
each  side,  looking  towards  it.  On  the  top  of 
the  temple  is  a  cornice  with  hieroglyphics,  a 
torus  and  frieze  under  it.  The  cornice  is  six 
feet  wide,  the  frieze  is  four  feet.  Above  the 
cornice  is  a  row  of  sitting  monkeys  eight  feet 
high,  and  six  feet  wide  across  the  shoulders. 
They  are  twenty-one  in  number.  This  temple 
was  nearly  two-thirds  buried  under  the  sand, 
of  which  we  'removed  thirty-one  feet  before 
we  came  to  the  upper  part  of  the  door.  It 
must  have  had  a  very  fine  landing-place,  which 
is  now  totally  buried  under  the  sand.  It  is 
the  last  and  largest  temple  excavated  in  the 
solid  rock  in  Nubia  or  Egypt,  except  the  new 
tomb  in  Beban  el  Molook. 

"  The  heat  on  first  entering  the  temple  waa 
so  great  that  they  could  scarcely  bear  it,  and 

D  D 


302         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

the  perspiration  from  their  hands  was  so  copious 
as  to  render  the  paper  by  its  dripping  unfit  for 
use.  On  the  first  opening  that  was  made  by 
the  removal  of  the  sand,  the  only  living  object 
that  presented  itself  was  a  toad  of  prodigious 
size.  Halls  and  chambers  supported  by  magni- 
ficent columns,  and  adorned  with  beautiful 
intaglios,  paintings,  and  colossal  figures,  the 
walls  being  covered,  partly  with  hieroglyphics, 
and  partly  with  exhibitions  of  battles,  storming 
of  castles,  triumphs  over  the  Ethiopians,  sacri- 
fices, &c. — made  up  the  striking  interior." 

Nothing  but  the  most  extraordinary  degree 
of  enthusiasm  could  have  supported  Belzoni 
in  the  numerous  descents  which  he  made  into 
the  mummy  pits  of  Egypt,  and  through  the 
long  narrow  subterraneous  passages,  particu- 
larly inconvenient  for  a  man  of  his  size — ^for  he 
was  six  feet  and  a  half  in  height,  and  muscular 
in  proportion. 

"  Of  some  of  these  tombs,"  says  he,  "  many 
persons  could  not  withstand  the  sufifocating  air, 
which  often  causes  fainting.  A  vast  quantity 
of  dust  arises,  so  fine  that  it  enters  the  throat 
and  nostrils,  and  chokes  the  nose  and  mouth  to 


TRAVELLERS.  303 

such  a  degree  that  it  requires  great  power  of 
lungs  to  resist  it  and  the  strong  effluvia  of  the 
mummies.  This  is  not  all.  The  entry  or 
passage  where  the  bodies  are,  is  roughly 
cut  in  the  locks,  and  the  falling  of  the  sand 
from  the  upper  part  or  ceiling  of  the  passage 
causes  it  to  be  nearly  filled  up.  In  some  places 
there  is  not  more  than  the  vacancy  of  a  foot 
left,  which  you  must  contrive  to  pass  through 
in  a  creeping  posture  like  a  snail,  on  pointed 
and  keen  stones,  that  cut  like  glass.  After 
getting  through  these  passages,  some  of  them 
two  or  three  hundred  yards  long,  you  generally 
find  a  more  commodious  place,  perhaps  high 
enough  to  sit.  But  what  a  place  of  rest !  sur- 
rounded by  bodies,  by  heaps  of  mummies  in  all 
directions ;  which,  previous  to  my  being  ac- 
customed to  the  sight,  impressed  me  with 
horror.  The  blackness  of  the  wall,  the  faint 
light  given  by  the  candles  or  torches  for  want 
of  air,  the  different  objects  that  surrounded 
me,  seeming  to  converse  with  each  other,  and 
the  Arabs  with  the  candles  or  torches  in  their 
hands,  naked  and  covered  with  dust,  them- 
selves resembling  living  mimimies,  absolutely 


304  THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

formed  a  scene  that  cannot  be  described.  In 
such  a  situation  I  found  myself  several  times, 
and  often  returned  exhausted  and  fainting,  till 
at  last  I  became  inured  to  it,  and  indifferent  to 
what  I  suffered,  except  from  the  dust,  which 
never  failed  to  choke  my  throat  and  nose  ;  and 
though,  fortunately,  I  am  destitute  of  the  sense 
of  smelling,  I  could  taste  that  the  mummies 
were  rather  unpleasant  to  swallow.  After  the 
exertion  of  entering  into  such  a  place,  through 
a  passage  of  fifty,  a  hundred,  three  hundred, 
or  perhaps  six  hundred  yards,  nearly  over- 
come, I  sought  a  resting-place,  found  one,  and 
contrived  to  sit ;  but  when  my  weight  bore  on 
the  body  of  an  Egyptian,  it  crushed  it  like  a 
band-box.  I  naturally  had  recourse  to  my 
hands  to  sustain  my  weight,  but  they  found  no 
better  support;  so  that  I  sunk  altogether  among 
the  broken  mummies,  with  a  crash  of  bones, 
rags,  and  wooden  cases,  which  raised  such  a 
dust  as  kept  me  motionless  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  waiting  till  it  subsided  again.  I  could 
not  remove  from  the  place,  however,  without 
increasing  it,  and  every  step  I  took  I  crushed  a 
mummy  in  some  part  or  other. 


TRAVELLERS.  80ft 

"  Once,  I  was  conducted  from  such  a  place 
to  another  resembling  it,  through  a  passage  of 
about  twenty  feet  in  length,  and  no  wider  than 
that  a  body  could  be  forced  through.  It  was 
choked  with  mummies,  and  I  could  not  pass 
without  putting  my  face  in  contact  with  that  of 
some  decayed  Egyptian ;  but  as  the  passage 
inclined  downwards,  my  own  weight  helped  me 
on ;  however,  I  could  not  avoid  being  covered 
with  bones,  legs,  arms,  and  heads  rolling  from 
above.  Thus  I  proceeded  from  one  cave  to 
another,  all  fuU  of  mummies  piled  up  in  vari- 
ous ways,  some  standing,  some  lying,  and  some 
on  their  heads.  The  purpose  of  my  researches 
was  to  rob  the  Egyptians  of  their  papyri ;  of 
which  I  foimd  a  few  hidden  in  their  breasts, 
under  their  arms,  in  the  space  above  the  knees, 
or  on  the  legs,  and  covered  by  the  numerous 
folds  of  cloth  that  envelope  the  mummy.  The 
people  of  Goumou,  who  make  a  trade  of  anti- 
quities of  this  sort  are  very  jealous  of  strangers, 
and  keep  them  as  secret  as  possible,  deceiving 
travellers  by  pretending  that  they  have  arrived 
at  the  end  of  the  pits,  when  they  are  scarcely  at 
the  entrance.    I  coidd  never  prevail  on  them  to 

u  D  2 


306         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

conduct  me  into  these  places  till  this  my  second 
voyage,  when  I  sncceded  in  obtaining  admis- 
sion into  any  caye  where  mummies  were  to  be 
seen." 

Mr.  Drovetti,  the  French  consul,  had  dis- 
covered a  sarcophagus  in  a  cavern  of  the 
mountains  of  Gournou,  but  had  endeavoured 
in  vain  to  get  it  out.  He,  therefore,  acquainted 
Belzoni  that  he  would  present  him  with  it. 
This  gave  occasion  to  an  adventure  which  pos- 
sesses much  of  the  interest  of  romance  in  the 
recital.  Mr.  Belzoni  entered  the  cavern  with 
two  Arabs  and  an  interpreter.  He  thus  de- 
scribes the  enterprise. 

"  Previous  to  our  entering  the  cave,  we  took 
oiF  the  greater  part  of  our  clothes,  and,  each 
having  a  candle,  advanced  through  a  cavity  in 
the  rock,  which  extended  a  considerable  length 
in  the  mountain,  sometimes  pretty  high,  some- 
times very  narrow,  and  without  any  regularity. 
In  some  passages  we  were  obliged  to  creep  on 
the  ground,  like  crocodiles.  I  perceived  that 
we  were  at  a  great  distance  from  the  entrance, 
and  the  way  was  so  intricate,  that  I  depended 
entirely  on  the  two  Arabs  to  conduct  us  out 


TRAVELLERS.  307 

agdn.  At  length  we  arrived  at  a  large  space, 
into  which  many  other  holes  or  cavities  opened; 
and,  after  some  examination  by  the  two  Arabs, 
we  entered  one  of  these,  which  was  very  nar- 
row, and  continued  downward  for  a  long  way, 
through  a  craggy  passage,  till  we  came  where 
two  other  apertures  led  to  the  interior  in  a 
horizontal  direction.  One  of  the  Arabs  then 
said,  '  This  is  the  place.*  I  could  not  conceive 
how  so  large  a  sarcophagus,  as  had  been  de- 
scribed to  me,  could  have  been  taken  through 
the  aperture  which  the  Arab  now  pointed  out. 
I  had  no  doubt  but  these  recesses  were  burial- 
places,  as  we  continually  walked  over  skulls 
and  other  bones;  but  the  sarcophagus  could 
never  have  entered  this  recess;  for  it  was  so 
narrow,  that  on  my  attempt  to  penetrate  it,  I 
could  not  pass. 

**  One  of  the  Arabs,  however,  succeeded,  as 
did  my  interpreter ;  and  it  was  agreed,  that  I 
and  the  other  Arab  should  wait  till  they  re- 
turned. They  proceeded  evidently  to  a  great 
distance,  for  the  light  disappeared,  and  only  a 
murmuring  sound  from  their  voices  could  be 
distinguished  as   they  went   on.     After  a  few 


308         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

moments,  I  heard  a  loud  noise,  and  the  inter- 
preter distinctly  crying,  *  O  my  God,  I  am 
lost ! '  After  which,  a  profound  silence  ensued. 
I  asked  my  Arab,  whether  he  had  ever  been  in 
that  place  ?  He  replied,  '  Never.'  I  could  not 
conceive  what  could  have  happened,  and  thought 
the  best  plan  was  to  return,  to  procure  help 
from  the  other  Arabs.  Accordingly,  I  told  my 
man  to  show  me  the  way  out  again;  but, 
staring  at  me  like  an  idiot,  he  said  he  did  not 
know  the  road.  I  called  repeatedly  to  the 
interpreter,  but  received  no  answer.  I  watched 
a  long  time,  but  no  one  returned ;  and  my 
situation  was  no  very  pleasant  one.  I  naturally 
returned,  through  the  passages,  by  which  we 
had  come ;  and  after  some  time,  I  succeeded 
in  reaching  the  place,  where,  as  I  mentioned, 
were  many  cavities.  It  was  a  complete  laby- 
rinth, as  all  these  places  bore  a  great  resem- 
blance to  the  one  which  we  first  entered.  At 
last,  seeing  one  which  appeared  to  be  the  right, 
we  proceeded  through  it  a  long  way;  but,  by 
this  time,  our  candles  had  diminished  consider- 
ably ;  and  I  feared  that  if  we  did  not  get  out 
soon,  we  should  have  to  remain  in  the  dark. 


TRAVELLERS.  309 

Meantime,  it  would  have  been  dangerous  to 
put  one  out  to  save  the  other,  lest  that  which 
was  left  should,  by  some  accident,  be  extin- 
guished. At  this  time  we  were  considerably 
advanced  towards  the  outside,  as  we  thought; 
but,  to  our  sorrow  we  found  the  end  of  that 
cavity  without  any  outlet. 

"  Convinced  that  we  were  mistaken  in  our 
conjecture,  we  quickly  returned  towards  the 
place  of  the  various  entries,  which  we  strove 
to  regain.  But  we  were  then  as  perplexed  as 
ever,  and  were  both  exhausted  from  the  as- 
cents and  descents,  which  we  had  been  obliged 
to  go  over.  The  Arab  seated  himself,  but 
every  moment  of  delay  was  dangerous.  The 
only  expedient  was,  to  put  a  mark  at  the  place 
out  of  which  we  had  just  come,  and  then  ex- 
amine the  cavities  in  succession,  by  putting 
also  a  mark  at  their  entrance,  so  as  to  know 
where  we  had  been.  Unfortunately,  our  candles 
would  not  last  through  the  whole :  however, 
we  began  our  operations. 

"  On  the  second  attempt,  when  passing  before 
a  small  aperture,  I  thought  I  heard  the  sound 
of  something  like  the  roaring  of  the  sea  at  a 


310         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

distance.  In  consequence,  I  entered  this  cavity; 
and  as  we  advanced  the  noise  increased^,  till  I 
could  distinctly  hear  a  number  of  voices  all  at 
one  time.  At  last,  thank  God,  we  walked  out ; 
and  to  my  no  small  surprise,  the  first  person  I 
saw  was  my  interpreter.  How  he  came  to  be 
there  I  could  not  conjecture.  He  told  me  that, 
in  proceeding  with  the  Arab  along  the  passage 
below,  they  came  to  a  pit,  which  they  did  not 
see  •  that  the  Arab  fell  into  it,  and  in  falling 
put  out  both  candles.  It  was  then  that  he 
cried  [out  '  I  am  lost ! '  as  he  thought  he  also 
should  have  fallen  into  the  pit.  But,  on  raising 
his  head,  he  saw,  at  a  great  distance  a  glimpse 
of  daylight,  towards  which  he  advanced,  and 
thus  arrived  at  a  small  aperture-  He  then 
scraped  away  some  loose  sand  and  stones,  to 
widen  the  place  where  he  came  out,  and  went 
to  give  the  alarm  to  the  Arabs,  who  were  at 
the  other  entrance.  Being  all  concerned  for 
the  man  who  fell  to  the  bottom  of  the  pit,  it 
was  their  noise  that  I  heard  in  the  cave.  The 
place  by  which  my  interpreter  got  out  was 
instantly  widened ;  and  in  the  confusion,  the 
Arabs  did  not  regard  letting  me  see  that  they 


TRAVELLERS.  311 

were  acquainted  with,  that  entrance,  and  that 
it  had  lately  been  shut  up.  I  was  not  long  in 
detecting  their  scheme.  The  Arabs  had  in- 
tended to  show  me  the  sarcophagus,  without 
letting  me  see  the  way  by  which  it  might  be 
taken  out,  and  then  to  stipulate  a  price  for  the 
secret.  It  was  with  this  view  they  took  me 
such  a  way  round  about." 

Of  all  the  discoveries  of  Belzoni,  the  most 
magnificent  was  that  of  a  new  tomb  in  the 
Beban  el  Molook,  or  Vale  of  the  Tombs  of 
Kings.  "  I  may  call  this,"  says  the  traveller, 
"  a  fortunate  day,  one  of  the  best  perhaps  of 
my  life ;  from  the  pleasure  it  afforded  me  of 
presenting  to  the  world  a  new  and  perfect 
monument  of  Egyptian  antiquity,  which  can 
be  recorded  as  superior  to  any  other  in  point 
of  grandeur,  style,  and  preservation, — appear- 
ing as  if  just  finished  on  the  day  we  entered  it  • 
and  what  I  found  in  it,"  he  adds,  "  will  show 
its  great  superiority  to  all  others.  Certain  in- 
dications had  convinced  him  of  the  existence 
of  a  large  and  unopened  sepulchre.  Impressed 
with  this  idea,  he  caused  the  earth  to  be  dug 
away  to  the  depth  of  eighteen  feet,  when  the 


312         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

entrance  made  its  appearance.  The  passage, 
however,  was  choked  up  with  large  stones, 
which  were  with  diiEculty  removed.  A  long 
corridor,  with  a  painted  ceiling,  led  to  a  stair- 
case twenty-three  feet  long,  and  nearly  nine 
feet  wide.  At  the  bottom  was  a  door,  twelve 
feet  high ;  it  opened  into  a  second  corridor  of 
the  same  width,  thirty-seven  feet  long,  the 
sides  and  ceiling  finely  sculptured  and  painted. 
"  The  more  I  saw,"  he  says,  "  the  more  I  was 
eager  to  see."  His  progress,  however,  was  in- 
terrupted at  the  end  of  this  second  corridor  by 
a  pit  thirty  feet  deep  and  twelve  wide.  Be- 
yond this  was  perceived  a  small  aperture  of 
about  two  feet  square  in  the  wall,  out  of  which 
hung  a  rope  reaching  probably  to  the  bottom 
of  the  well;  another  rope  fastened  to  a  beam 
of  wood  stretching  across  the  passage,  on  this 
side  also  hung  into  the  well.  One  of  these 
ropes  was  unquestionably  for  the  purpose  of 
descending  on  one  side  of  the  well  and  the  other 
for  that  of  ascending  on  the  opposite  side. 
Both  the  wood  and  the  rope  crumbled  to  dust 
on  being  touched. 

By  means  of  two  beams,  Belzoni  contrived 


TRAVELLERS.  318 

to  cross  this  pit  or  well,  and  to  force  a  larger 
opening  .in  the  wall,  beyond  which  was  dis- 
covered a  third  corridor  of  the  same  dimen- 
sions as  the  two  former.  Those  parts  of  the 
wood  and  rope  which  were  on  the  further  side 
of  this  wall  did  not  fall  to  dust,  but  were  in  a 
tolerably  good  state  of  preservation,  owing,  as 
he  supposed,  to  the  dryness  of  the  air  in  these 
more  distant  apartments.  The  pit,  he  thought, 
was  intended  as  a  sort  of  reservoir  tdl^eive  the 
wet  which  might  drain  through  the  ground 
between  it  and  the  external  entrance. 

"  The  sepulchre  was  now  found  to  open  into 
a  number  of  chambers  of  different  dimensions, 
with  corridors  and  staircases.  Of  the  chambers, 
the  first  was  a  beautiful  hall,  twenty-seven  feet 
six  inches  by  twenty-five  feet  ten  inches,  in  which 
were  four  pillars,  each  three  feet  square.  At  the 
end  of  this  room,  I  call  the  entrance-hall,"  says 
the  famous  discoverer,  "  is  a  large  door,  from 
which  three  steps  lead  down  into  a  chamber  with 
two  pillars.  This  is  twenty-eight  feet  two  inches 
by  twenty-five  feet  six  inches.  The  pillars  are 
three  feet  ten  inches  square.  I  gave  it  the 
name  of  the  drawing-room;  for  it  is  covered 

E  E 


314         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    ENTERPRISE. 

with  figures,  which,  though  only  outlined,  are 
so  fine  and  perfect,  that  you  would  think  they 
had  been  drawn  only  the  day  before.  Return- 
ing into  the  entrance-hall,  we  saw  on  the  left 
of  the  aperture  a  large  staircase,  which  de- 
scended into  a  corridor.  It  is  thirteen  feet  four 
inches  long,  seven  and  a  half  wide,  and  has 
eighteen  steps.  At  the  bottom  we  entered  a 
beautiful  corridor,  thirty-six  feet  six  inches  by 
six  feet  eleven  inches.  We  perceived  that  the 
paintings  became  more  perfect  as  we  advanced 
farther  into  the  interior.  They  retained  their 
gloss,  or  a  kind  of  varnish  over  the  colours, 
which  had  a  beautiful  effect.  The  figures  are 
painted  on  a  white  ground.  At  the  end  of  this 
corridor  we  descended  ten  steps,  which  I  call 
the  small  stairs,  into  another,  seventeen  feet 
two  inches  by  ten  feet  five  inches.  From  this 
we  entered  a  small  chamber,  twenty  feet  four 
inches  by  thirteen  feet  eight  inches,  to  which 
I  gave  the  name  of  the  ^  E-oom  of  Beauties  ; ' 
for  it  is  adorned  with  the  most  beautiful  figures 
in  basso  relievo,  like  all  the  rest,  and  painted. 
When  standing  in  the  centre  of  this  chamber^ 
the  traveller  is  surrounded  by  an  assembly  of 
Egyptian  gods  and  goddesses. 


TRAVELLERS.  315 

"  Proceeding  further,  we  entered  a  large 
hall,  twenty-seven  feet  nine  inches  by  twenty- 
six  feet  ten  inches.  In  this  hall  are  two  rows 
of  square  pillars,  three  on  each  side  of  the 
entrance,  forming  a  line  with  the  corridors. 
At  each  side  of  this  hall  is  a  small  chamber. 
This  haU  I  termed  the  '  HaU  of  Pillars:'  the 
chamber  on  the  right,  '  Isis'  Room,'  as  in  it  a 
large  cow  is  painted :  that  on  the  left,  the  *  Room 
of  Mysteries,'  from  the  mysterious  figures  it  ex- 
hibits. At  the  end  of  this  hall  we  entered  a 
large  saloon  with  an  arched  roof  or  ceiling, 
which  is  separated  from  the  *  Hall  of  Pillars' 
only  by  a  step,  so  that  the  two  may  be 
reckoned  one. 

"  The  saloon  is  thirty-one  feet  ten  inches  by 
twenty-seven  feet.  On  the  right  of  the  saloon 
is  a  small  chamber  without  anything  in  it, 
roughly  cut,  as  if  unfinished,  and  without  paint- 
ing :  on  the  left  we  entered  a  chamber  with 
two  square  piQars,  twenty-five  feet  eight  inches 
by  twenty-two  feet  ten  inches.  This  I  called 
the  '  Sideboard  Room,'  as  it  has  a  projection  of 
three  feet  in  a  form  of  a  sideboard  all  round, 
which  was  perhaps   intended  to    contain   the 


316         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

articles  necessary  for  the  funeral  ceremony. 
The  pillars  are  three  feet  four  inches  square, 
and  the  whole  beautifully  painted  as  the  rest. 
At  the  same  end  of  the  room,  and  facing  the 
'  Hall  of  Pillars '  we  entered  by  a  large  door 
into  another  chamber  with  four  pillars,  one  of 
which  is  fallen  down.  This  chamber  is  forty- 
three  feet  four  inches  by  seventeen  feet  six 
inches;  the  pillars  three  feet  seven  inches 
square.  It  is  covered  with  white  plaster,  where 
the  rock  did  not  cut  smoothly,  but  there  is  no 
painting  on  it.  I  named  it  the  ^  Bull's,'  or 
'  Apis'  Room,'  as  we  found  the  carcase  of  a 
bull  in  it,  embahned  with  asphaltum;  and  also, 
scattered  in  various  places,  an  immense  quantity 
of  small  wooden  figures  of  mummies  six  or 
eight  inches  long,  and  covered  with  asphaltum 
to  preserve  them.  There  were  some  other 
figures  of  fine  earth  baked,  coloured  blue,  and 
strongly  varnished.  On  each  side  of  the  two  little 
rooms  were  wooden  statues  standing  erect,  four 
feet  high,  with  a  circular  hollow  inside,  as  if 
to  contain  a  roll  of  papyrus  which  I  have  no 
doubt  they  did.  We  found  likewise  fragments 
of  other  statues  of  wood  and  of  composition. 


TRAVELLERS.  817 

"  But  the  description  of  what  we  found  in  the 
centre   of  the  saloon,   and   which  I  have  re- 
served till  this  place,  merits  the  most  particular 
attention,  not   having  its  equal  in  the  world, 
and  being  such  as  we  had  no  idea  could  exist. 
It  is  a  sarcophagus  of  the  finest  oriental  ala- 
baster, nine  feet  five  inches  long,  and  three 
feet  seven  inches  wide.     Its  thickness  is  only- 
two  inches  ;  and  it  is  transparent  when  a  light 
is  placed  inside  of  it.     It  is  minutely  sciJp- 
turcd  within  and  without  with  several  hundred 
figures,  which  do   not  exceed   two  inches  in 
height,  and  represent,  as  I  suppose,  the  whole 
of  the  funeral  procession  and  ceremonies  re- 
lating to   the   deceased,   united  with   several 
emblems.     I  cannot  give  an  adequate  idea  of 
this  beautiful  and  invaluable  piece  of  antiquity, 
and  can  oidy  say  that  nothing  has  been  brought 
into  Europe  from  Egypt  that  can  be  compared 
with  it.    The  cover  was  not  there ;  it  had  been 
taken  out,  and  broken  into  several  pieces,  which 
we  found  in  digging  before  the  first  entrance. 
The  sarcophagus  was  over  a  staircase  in  the 
centre  of  the  saloon,  which  communicated  in 
a  subterraneous  passage^  leading  downwards, 

eb2 


318       THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   ENTERPRISE. 

three  hundred  feet  in  length.  At  the  end  of 
this  passage  we  found  a  great  quantity  of  bats' 
dung,  which  choked  it  up,  so  that  we  could  go 
no  further  without  digging.  It  was  nearly 
filled  up  too  by  the  falling  in  of  the  upper 
part." 

This  sarcophagus  is  now  to  be  seen  in  Sir 
John  Soane's  Museum,  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields. 
The  sight  of  it  will  richly  repay  the  visitor. 
Copies  of  the  figures  on  the  walls  of  the  tomb 
are  to  be  seen  in  the  Egyptian  rooms  of  the 
British  Museum,  and  form  not  the  least  striking 
of  its  vast  collection  of  curiosities. 

Perhaps  the  most  arduous  of  Belzoni's  enter- 
prises was  the  opening  of  the  second  pyramid 
of  Ghiza,  known  by  the  name  of  Cephrenes,  as 
the  largest  pyramid  is  known  by  the  name  of 
Cheops.  Herodotus,  the  ancient  Greek  his- 
torian, was  informed  that  this  pyramid  had  no 
subterranean  chambers,  and  his  information, 
being  found  in  latter  ages  to  be  generally  cor- 
rect, may  be  supposed  to  have  operated  in  pre- 
venting that  curiosity  which  prompted  the 
opening  of  the  great  pyramid  of  Cheops  by  Shaw. 
Belzoni,   however,   perceived    certain   indica- 


TRAVELLERS.  S19 

cations  of  sufficient  weight  to  induce  him  to 
make  the  attempt. 

"  The  opening  of  this  pyramid,"  says  Mr.  Salt, 
the  English  consul-general,  "  had  long  been 
considered  an  object  of  so  hopeless  a  nature 
that  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  any  person 
could  be  found  sanguine  enough  to  make  the 
attempt;  and  even  after  the  discovery  with 
great  labour  of  the  forced  entrance,  it  required 
great  perseverance  in  Belzoni,  and  confidence 
in  his  own  views,  to  induce  him  to  continue 
the  operation,  when  it  became  evident  that 
the  extensive  labours  of  his  predecessors  in  the 
enterprise  had  completely  failed.  The  direct 
manner  in  which  he  dug  down  upon  the  door 
affi)rds  the  most  incontestible  proof,  that  chance 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  discovery  itself, 
Belzoni  has  given  a  very  clear  description.*' 

"  On  my  return  to  Cairo,"  says  he,  "  I  again 
went  to  visit  the  celebrated  pyramids  of  Ghiza; 
and  on  viewing  that  of  Cephi-enes,  I  could  not 
help  reflecting  how  many  travellers  of  difierent 
nations,  who  had  visited  this  spot,  contented 
themselves  with  looking  at  the  outside  of  the 
pyramid,  and    went   away  without   inquiring 


820         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

whether  any,  and  what  chambers,  exist  within 
it;  satisfied  perhaps  with  the  report  of  the 
Egyptian  priests,  ^  that  the  pyramid  of  Cheops, 
only,  contained  chambers  in  its  interior.'  I 
then  begun  to  consider  the  possibility  of  open- 
ing this  pyramid.  The  attempt  was,  perhaps, 
presumptuous;  and  the  risk  of  undertaking 
such  an  immense  work  without  success  de- 
terred me  in  some  degree  from  the  enterprise. 
I  am  not  certain  whether  love  for  antiquity,  an 
ardent  curiosity,  or  ambition,  spurred  me  on 
most  in  spite  of  every  obstacle,  but  I  deter- 
mined at  length  to  commence  the  operation. 

"  I  set  out  from  Cairo  on  the  6th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1818,  under  pretence  of  going  in  quest 
of  some  antiquities  at  a  village  not  far  off,  in 
order  that  I  might  not  be  disturbed  in  my 
work  by  the  people  of  Cairo.  I  then  repaired 
to  the  Kaiya  Bey,  and  asked  permission  to 
work  at  the  pyramid  of  Ghiza,  in  search  of 
antiquities.  He  made  no  objection,  but  said 
that  he  wished  to  know  if  there  was  any 
ground  about  the  pyramid  fit  for  tillage.  I  in- 
formed him  that  it  was  all  stones,  and  at  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  any  tilled  ground.     He 


TRAVELLERS.  8j81 

nevertheless  persisted  in  inquiring  of  the 
cachef  of  the  province,  if  there  was  any  good 
ground  near  the  pyramids;  and  after  receiv- 
ing the  necessary  information,  granted  my 
request. 

"  Having  thus  acquired  permission,  I  began 
my  labours  on  the  10th  of  February,  at  a  point 
on  the  north  side,  in  a  vertical  section  at  right 
angles  to  that  side  of  the  base.  I  saw  many 
reasons  against  my  beginning  there,  but  cer- 
tain indications  told  me  that  there  was  an  en- 
trance at  that  spot.  I  employed  sixty  labour- 
ing men,  and  began  to  cut  through  the  mass 
of  stones  and  cement  which  had  fallen  from 
the  upper  part  of  the  pyramid ;  but  it  was  so 
hard  joined  together,  that  the  men  spoiled 
several  of  their  hatchets  in  the  operation.  The 
stones  which  had  fallen  down  along  with  the 
cement,  had  formed  themselves  into  one  solid 
and  almost  impenetrable  mass.  I  succeeded, 
however,  in  making  an  opening  of  fifteen  feet 
wide,  and  continued  working  downwards  in 
uncovering  the  face  of  the  pyramid.  This 
work  took  up  several  days,  without  the  least 
prospect  of  meeting  with  anything  interesting. 


S2^         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

Meantime,  I  began  to  fear  that  some  of  the 
Europeans  residing  at  Cairo  might  pay  a  visit 
to  the  pyramids,  which  they  do  very  often, 
and  thus  discover  my  retreat,  and  interrupt 
my  proceedings. 

"  On  the  17th  of  the  same  month  we  had  made 
a  considerable  advance  downwards,  when  an 
Arab  workman  called  out,  making  a  great 
noise,  and  saying  that  he  had  found  the  en- 
trance. He  had  discovered  a  hole  in  the  pyra- 
mid into  which  he  could  just  thrust  his  arm 
and  a  djerid  of  six  feet  long.  Towards  the 
evening  we  discovered  a  larger  aperture,  about 
three  feet  square,  which  had  been  closed  in 
irregularly,  by  a  hewn  stone.  This  stone  I 
caused  to  be  removed,  and  then  came  to  an 
opening  larger  than  the  preceding,  but  filled 
up  with  loose  stones  and  sand.  This  satisfied 
me  that  it  was  not  the  real  but  a  forced  passage, 
which  I  found  to  lead  inwards  and  towards  the 
south.  The  next  day  we  succeeded  in  entering 
fifteen  feet  from  the  outside,  when  we  reached 
a  place  where  the  sand  and  stones  began  to  fall 
from  above.  I  caused  the  rubbish  to  be  taken 
out,  but  it  still  continued  to  fall  in  great  quan- 


TRAVELLERS.  31^ 

titles.  At  last,  after  some  days'  labour,  I  dis- 
covered an  upper  forced  entrance,  communi- 
cating with  the  outside  from  above,  and  which 
had  evidently  been  cut  by  some  one,  who  was 
in  search  of  the  true  passage.  Having  cleared 
this  passage  I  perceived  another  opening  be- 
low, which  apparently  ran  towards  the  centre 
of  the  pyramid. 

"  In  a  few  hours  I  was  able  to  enter  this 
passage,  which  runs  horizontally  towards  the 
centre  of  the  pyramid,  nearly  all  choked  up 
with  stones  and  sand.  These  obstructions  I 
caused  to  be  taken  out;  and  at  half-way  from 
the  entrance  I  foiind  a  descent,  which  also  had 
been  forced;  and  which  ended  at  the  distance 
of  forty  feet.  I  afterwards  continued  the  work 
in  the  horizontal  passage  above,  in  hopes  that 
it  might  lead  to  the  centre;  but  I  was  disap- 
pointed, and  at  last  was  convinced  that  it 
ended  there,  and  that,  to  attempt  to  advance 
that  way  would  only  incur  the  risk  of  sacrifi- 
cing some  of  my  workmen;  as  it  was  really 
astonishing  to  see  how  the  stones  hung  sus- 
pended over  their  heads,  resting,  perhaps,  by 
a  single  point.    Indeed,  one  of  these  stones  did 


324         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

and  had  nearly  killed  one  of  the  men.  I  there- 
fore reth'ed  from  the  forced  passage,  with  great 
regret  and  disappointment. 

'*  Notwithstanding  the  discouragements  I  met 
with,  I  recommenced  my  researches  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  depending  upon  my  indications.  I 
directed  the  ground  to  be  cleared  away  to  the 
eastward  of  the  false  entrance ;  the  stones,  en- 
crusted, and  bound  together  with  cement,  were 
equally  hard  as  the  former,  and  we  had  as 
many  large  stones  to  remove  as  before.  By 
this  time  my  retreat  had  been  discovered, 
which  occasioned  me  many  interruptions  from 
visitors. 

"  On  February  28,  we  discovered  a  block 
of  granite  in  an  inclined  direction  towards  the 
centre  of  the  pyramid,  and  I  perceived  that 
the  inclination  was  the  same  as  that  of  the 
passage  of  the  first  pyramid,  or  that  of  Cheops; 
consequently,  I  began  to  hope  that  I  was  near 
the  true  entrance.  On  the  first  of  March  we 
observed  three  large  blocks  of  stone  one  upon 
the  other,  all  inclined  towards  the  centre ; 
these  large  stones  we  had  to  remove  as  well  as 
.others,  much  larger,  as  we  advanced,  which 


TRAVELLERS.  325 

considerably  retarded  our  approach  to  the  de- 
sired spot.  I  perceived,  however,  that  I  Wias 
near  the  true  entrance,  and,  in  fact,  the  next 
day  about  noon,  on  the  2nd  of  March,  was  the 
epoch  at  which  the  grand  pyramid  of  Ccph- 
renes  was  at  last  opened,  after  being  closed  up 
80  many  centuries,  that  it  remained  an  un- 
certainty whether  any  interior  chambers  did 
or  did  not  exist.'* 

Belzoni  then  gives  a  detailed  description  of 
the  passages  leading  to  the  great  chamber  of 
the  pyramid.  **  On  entering  the  great  cham- 
ber," he  continues,  "  I  found  it  to  be  forty-six 
feet  three  inches  long,  sixteen  feet  three  inches 
wide,  and  twenty-three  feet  six  inches  high ; 
for  the  most  part  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock,  (for 
this  chamber  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  pyramid) 
except  that  part  of  the  roof  towards  the  west- 
em  end.  In  the  midst  we  observed  a  sarco- 
phagus of  granite,  partly  buried  in  the  ground, 
to  the  level  of  the  floor,  eight  feet  long,  three 
feet  six  inches  wide,  and  two  feet  three  inches 
deep  inside,  surrounded  by  large  blocks  of 
granite,  being  placed  apparently  to  guard  it 
from  being  taken  away,  which  could  not  be 

F  F 


326         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

effected  without  great  labour.  The  lid  of  it 
had  been  opened;  I  found  in  it  only  a  few 
bones  of  a  human  skeleton,  which  merit  pre- 
servation as  curious  relics,  they  being,  in  all 
probability,  those  of  Cephrenes,  the  reported 
builder  of  the  pyramid." 

It  is  necessary,  however,  to  inform  the  young 
reader  that  Belzoni,  being  unversed  in  oste- 
ology, was  mistaken  here  ;  and  that  these  bones, 
when  examined  by  scientific  men  in  London, 
were  found  to  be  those  of  a  cow;  thus  giving 
foundation  for  the  theory  that  the  bodies  of 
sacred  animals,  the  representatives  of  the  Egyp- 
tian gods,  were  interred  with  extraordinary 
honours. 

To  narrate  all  the  enterprises  of  Belzoni 
would  occupy  volumes.  Let  us  allude  but  to 
one  more.  He  uncovered  the  front  of  the  great 
Sphynx — that  gigantic  monument  which  has 
been  synonymous  with  '  Mystery,'  from  the  re- 
motest ages  of  history.  Numerous  pieces  of 
antiquity  were  as  unexpectedly  as  extraordi- 
narily, developed  by  this  enterprise;  pieces 
which,  for  many  centuries,  had  not  been  ex- 
posed to  human  eyes.     Among  other  things,  a 


TRAVELLERS.  327 

beautiful  temple,  cut  out  of  one  piece  of 
granite,  yet  of  considerable  dimensions,  was 
discovered  between  the  legs  of  the  sphynx, 
having  within  it  a  sculptured  lion  and  a  small 
sphynx.  In  one  of  the  paws  of  the  great 
sphynx  was  another  temple  with  a  sculptured 
lion  standing  on  an  altar.  In  front  of  the 
great  sphynx  were  the  remains  of  buildings 
apparently  temples,  and  several  granite  slabs 
with  inscriptions  cut  into  them,  some  entire, 
and  others  broken.  One  of  these  is  by  Claudius 
Coesar,  recording  his  visits  to  the  pyramids, 
and  another  by  Antonius  Pius ;  both  of  which, 
with  the  little  lions,  are  now  in  the  British 
Museum. 


328         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF    ENTERPRISE. 


€\mkx  t\t  iift^. 


With  the  progress  of  civilisation.  Enterprise 
took  more  diversified  forms.  First,  man  was 
summoned  to  display  this  commanding  quality 
of  mind  in  the  subjugation  or  destruction  of 
the  stronger  and  fiercer  animals.  Then,  he 
had  to  enter  on  the  perilous  adventure  into 
strange  regions  by  land,  and  the  hazardous 
transit  of  the  ocean,  in  search  of  still  more 
unknown  countries.  We  have  just  glanced  at 
another  department  of  enterprise — the  search 
for  antiquities;  and  the  subject  was  placed 
in  this  order  because  it  seemed  naturally  con- 
nected with  the  perils  of  travel.  But  Enter- 
prise had  taken  a  thousand  forms  before  men 
began  to  venture  on  great  dangers  for  the 
attainment  of  more  certain  knowledge  of  the 


TRAVELLERS.  3J69 

past.  The  hewing  of  rocks  and  levelling  of 
forests,  the  disembowelling  of  mines,  the  con- 
struction of  highways  and  harbours,  the  erec- 
tion of  bridges  and  lighthouses,  of  Cyclopaean 
piles  and  pyramids,  of  obelisks  and  columns, 
of  aqueducts  and  walls  of  cities, — these,  and 
a  thousand  other  displays  of  strength,  genius, 
and  skill  were  among  the  "  Triumphs  of  En- 
terprise*' ages  ago;  and  they  are  now  succeeded 
by  the  formation  of  railways,  and  the  myriad 
fold  enterprises  of  modern  science. 

How  much  would  we  not  give  for  an 
authentic  account  of  those  mysterious  enter- 
prises,— the  building  of  Stonehenge,  of  the 
round  towers  of  Ireland,  and  of  the  multi- 
tudinous "  Druidical"  monuments,  as  they  are 
termed,  which  are  scattered  in  immense  masses 
over  Spain  and  other  parts  of  the  Continent? 
We  are  left  to  conjecture  for  their  origin; 
and  our  knowledge  of  it  may  never  reach  to 
certainty.  The  venerable  pyramids,  them- 
selves, are  equally  mysterious,  both  as  it  re- 
gards the  purposes  for  which  they  were 
erected,  and  the  means  of  erecting  them.  The 
Cyclopaean   masses  of  stone   which  form  the 

F  F  2 


SSO         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

foundations  of  the  ruined  temple  at  Balbec, — 
(masses  which  dwarf  the  stones  of  the  Pyra- 
mids)— as  well  as  the  recently  discovered  re- 
mains in  Central  America,  stretch  back  into 
the  far  past,  and  also  puzzle  and  confound  all 
human  judgment  and  reckoning. 

Again,  even  of  some  of  the  more  recent 
erections  of  antiquity,  opinion  is  divided  as 
to  the  true  cause  of  carrying  out  such  enter- 
prises. In  this  predicament  antiquarian  criti- 
cism places  the  Roman  aqueducts — those  im- 
mense structures,  formed,  often,  of  several  miles 
of  arches,  on  which  water  was  conveyed  over 
valleys.  From  a  passage  in  Pliny  it  is  argued 
that  the  Komans  were  really  acquainted  with 
the  hydrostatic  truth  that  water  will  rise  to  its 
own  level;  that  these  immense  edifices  were 
erected  rather  from  reasons  of  state  policy  than 
firom  ignorance — the  construction  of  them  serv- 
ing to  employ  turbulent  spirits.  All  this,  how- 
ever, is  doubtful;  and  it  may  be  that  real  igno- 
rance stimulated  the  Romans  to  carry  on  and 
complete  these  gigantic  undertakings  which 
abounded  in  their  empire.  One,  it  may  be 
observed,  which  was  begun  by  Caius  Caesar, 


TRAVELLERS.  SSI 

but  completed  by  Claudius,  and  therefore 
called  the  Claudian  aqueduct,  was  forty  miles 
in  length,  and  was  raised  sufficiently  to  dis- 
tribute water  over  the  seven  hills  of  the 
imperial  mistress  of  the  world. 

But  above  all  the  civil  enterprises  of  the 
Romans  we  ought  to  place  their  roads.  These 
grand  and  enduring  highways,  indeed,  stamped 
Europe  with  a  new  feature,  and  the  civilised 
likeness  thus  impressed  on  her  was  not  effaced 
until  railroads  gave  the  initiative  to  a  new 
civilisation.  We  cannot  refrain  from  quoting 
Gibbon's  masterly  description  of  the  Roman 
highways.  It  occurs  after  he  has  been  de- 
picturing the  subordinate  Roman  capitals  in 
Asia  Minor,  Syria  and  Egypt.  "All  these 
cities  were  connected  with  each  other  and  with 
the  capital  by  the  public  highways,  which, 
issuing  from  the  Forum  at  Rome,  traversed 
Italy,  pervaded  the  provinces,  and  were  ter- 
minated only  by  the  frontiers  of  the  empire. 
If  we  carefully  trace  the  distance  from  the  wall 
of  Antoninus  (in  Scotland)  to  Rome,  and  from 
thence  to  Jerusalem,  it  will  be  found  that  the 
great  chain  of  communication,  from  the  north- 


SS2         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

west  to  the  south-east  point  of  the  empire,  was 
drawn  out  to  the  length  of  4080  Roman  (or 
3740  English)  miles.     The  public  roads  were 
accurately  divided  by  milestones,  and  ran  in  a 
direct  line  from  one  city  to  another,  with  very 
little  respect  for  the  obstacles  either  of  nature 
or  private  property.     Mountains  were  perfo- 
rated, and  bold  arches  thrown  over  the  broad- 
est and  most  rapid  streams.     The  middle  part 
of  the  road  was  raised  into  a  terrace  which 
commanded  the  adjacent  country,  consisting  of 
several  strata  of  sand,  gravel,  and  cement,  and 
was  paved  with  large  stones,  or,  in  some  places 
near  the  capital,  with  granite.     Such  was  the 
solid   construction   of    the    Roman   highways, 
whose  firmness  has  not  entirely  yielded  to  the 
effect  of  fifteen   centuries.     They   united  the 
subjects  of  the  most  distant  provinces  by  an 
easy  and  familiar  intercourse;  but  their  primary 
object  had  been  to  facilitate  the  marches  of  the 
legions ;  nor  was  any  country  considered  as 
completely  subdued  till  it  had  been  rendered 
in  all  its  parts  pervious  to  the  arms  and  autho- 
rity of  the  conqueror.     The  advantage  of  re- 
ceiving the  earliest  intelligence,  and  of  convey- 


TRAVELLERS.  SSS 

ing  their  orders  y^th  celerity,  induced  the 
Emperors  to  establish,  throughout  their  exten- 
sive dominions,  the  regular  institution  of  posts. 
Houses  were  everywhere  erected  at  the  dis- 
tance of  five  or  six  miles ;  each  of  them  was 
constantly  provided  with  forty  horses ;  and,  by 
the  help  of  these  relays,  it  was  easy  to  travel  an 
hundred  miles  in  a  day  along  the  Roman  roads. 
The  use  of  the  posts  was  allowed  to  those  who 
claimed  it  by  an  imperial  mandate ;  but,  though 
originally  intended  for  the  public  service,  it 
was  sometimes  indulged  to  the  business  or  con- 
veniency  of  private  citizens." 

From  other  accounts  we  learn  that  the  Ro- 
man roads  varied  in  importance  and  uses. 
The  great  lines  were  called  "  Praetorian  ways," 
as  being  under  the  direction  of  the  Prajtors ; 
and  those  formed  the  roads  for  military  inter- 
course. Other  lines  were  exclusively  adapted 
for  commerce,  or  civil  intercourse,  and  were 
under  the  direction  of  consols.  Both  kinds 
were  formed  in  a  similar  manner.  The  plan 
on  which  they  were  made  was  more  calculated 
for  durability  than  ease  to  the  traveller ;  and, 
for  our  modern  wheel  carriages,  they  would  be 


THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   ENTERPRISE. 

found  particularly  objectionable.  Whatever 
was  their  entire  breadth,  the  centre  constituted 
the  beaten  track,  and  was  made  of  large  ill- 
dressed  stones,  laid  side  by  side  to  form  a 
compact  mass  of  from  twelve  to  twenty  feet 
broad ;  and,  therefore,  in  their  external  aspect, 
they  were  but  coarse  stone  causeways. 

Some  of  the  Roman  roads  had  double  lines 
of  this  solid  pavement,  with  a  smooth  brick 
path  for  foot  passengers;  and,  at  intervals, 
along  the  sides,  there  were  elevated  stones  on 
which  travellers  could  rest,  or  from  which 
cavalry  could  easily  mount  their  horses.  One 
important  feature  in  the  construction  of  all  the 
Roman  roads  was  the  bottoming  of  them  with 
solid  materials.  Their  first  operation  seems  to 
have  been  the  removal  of  all  loose  earth  or  soft 
matter  which  might  work  upwards  to  the  sur- 
face, and  then  they  laid  courses  of  small  stones, 
or  broken  tiles  and  earthenware,  with  a  course 
of  cement  above,  and  upon  that  were  placed 
the  heavy  stones  for  the  causeway.  Thus,  a 
most  substantial  and  durable  pavement  was 
formed,  the  expense  being  defrayed  from  the 
public  treasury.     Various  remains  of  Roman 


TRAVELLERS.  8S5 

roads  of  this  kind  still  exist  in  France,  and 
also  in  different  parts  of  Britain.  One  of  the 
chief  Roman  thoroughfares,  in  an  oblique  di- 
rection across  the  country  from  London  to  the 
western  part  of  Scotland,  was  long  kno-vvn  by 
the  name  of  Watling  Street,  and  the  name  has 
been  perpetuated  in  the  appellation  of  one  of 
the  streets  of  the  metropolis. 

In  the  construction  of  their  amphitheatres 
and  other  places  of  public  amusement  the 
Romans  far  transcended  modem  nations,  in 
none  of  which  does  a  theatre  exist  of  dimen- 
sions at  all  comparable  with  those  of  the  cities 
in  the  Roman  Empire.  The  ruins  of  the 
Colosseum,  in  Rome  itself,  are  the  source 
of  wonder  to  every  visitor.  The  beautiful 
lines  of  Byron  on  these  magnificent  remains 
of  Roman  civilisation  are  well  known. 

Respecting  numerous  other  enterprises  of 
the  ancient  world,  interesting,  but  imperfect* 
accounts  remain.  Such  are  the  narratives  of 
what  were  termed  the  "Seven  Wonders  of 
the  World."  It  is  time,  however,  to  leave 
antiquity, — or,  at  least,  classic  antiquity,  to 
speak   of  one   wondrous   enterprise, — that   of 


336         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   ENTERPRISE. 

a  nation  at  tlie  very  "  ends  of  the  earth,"  of 
whom  indeed  many  wonders  are  told. 

Bell,  the  enterprising  traveller,  presents,  per- 
haps, the  clearest  account  of  the  celebrated 
"  Great  WaU  of  China." 

"  On  the  Second  of  November,  1720,  about 
noon,"  says  he,  "we  could  perceive  the  famous 
wall,  running  along  the  tops  of  the  mountains, 
towards  the  north-east.  One  of  our  people 
cried  out  *land!'  as  if  we  had  been  all  this 
while  at  sea.  It  was  now,  as  nearly  as  I  can 
compute,  about  forty  English  miles  from  us, 
and  appeared  white  at  this  distance.  The 
appearance  of  it,  running  from  one  high  rock 
to  another,  with  square  towers  at  certain  inter- 
vals, even  at  this  distance,  is  most  magnifi- 
cent." 

In  two  days  they  arrived  at  the  foot  of  this 
mighty  barrier,  and  entered  through  a  great 
gate  into  China.  Here  a  thousand  men  were 
perpetually  on  guard,  by  the  officers  command- 
ing whom,  they  were  received  with  much  polite- 
ness, and  invited  to  tea. 

"  The  long,  or  endless  wall,  as  it  is  com- 
monly called,"  continues  Bell,  "encompasses 


TRAVELLERS.  337 

all  the  north  and  west  parts  of  China.  It  was 
built  about  six  hundred  years  ago  by  one  of  the 
Emperors,  to  prevent  the  frequent  incursions 
of  the  Mongols,  and  other  western  Tartars, 
who  made  a  practice  of  assembling  numerous 
troops  of  horse,  and  invading  the  country  in 
different  places.  The  Chinese  frontiers  were 
too  extensive  to  be  guarded  against  such  bold 
and  numerous  enemies,  who,  after  plundering 
and  destroying  a  wealthy  country,  retul^ed  to 
their  own,  loaded  with  spoils. 

"  The  Chinese  finding  all  precautions  in- 
effectual to  put  a  stop  to  the  inroads  of  such 
barbarians,  at  last  resolved  to  build  this  famous 
wall.  It  begins  in  the  Province  of  Leotong,  at 
the  bottom  of  the  Bay  of  Nankin,  and  proceeds 
across  rivers,  and  over  the  tops  of  the  highest 
mountains,  without  interruption,  keeping  nearly 
along  the  circular  ridge  of  barren  rocks  that 
surround  the  country  to  the  north  and  west; 
and  after  running  southwards  about  twelve 
hundred  English  miles,  ends  in  impassable 
mountains  and  sandy  deserts. 

"  The  foundation  consists  of  large  blocks  of 
square  stones  laid  in  mortar;  but  the  rest  of  the 

G    G 


338         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

wall  is  built  of  brick.  The  whole  is  so  strong 
and  well-built  as  to  need  almost  no  repair;  and, 
in  such  a  dry  climate,  may  remain  in  this  con- 
dition for  many  ages.  Its  height  and  breadth 
are  not  equal  in  every  place ;  nor,  indeed,  is  it 
necessary  they  should.  When  carried  over 
steep  rocks,  where  no  horse  can  pass,  it  is 
about  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high,  and  broad 
in  proportion;  but,  when  running  through  a 
valley,  or  crossing  a  river,  there  you  see  a 
strong  wall,  about  thirty  feet  high,  with  square 
towers  at  the  distance  of  a  bow-shot  from  one 
another,  and  embrasures  at  equal  distances. 
The  top  of  the  wall  is  flat,  and  paved  with 
broad  freestones;  and  where  it  rises  over  a 
rock,  or  any  eminence,  you  ascend  by  a  fine 
easy  stone  stair.  The  bridges  over  rivers  and 
torrents  are  exceedingly  neat,  being  both  well 
contrived  and  executed.  They  have  two  stories 
of  arches,  one  above  another,  to  afford  sufficient 
passage  for  the  waters  on  sudden  rains  and 
floods." 

Bell  was  also  informed  by  the  Chinese  that 
this  wall  was  completed  within  the  space  of  five 
years;  every  sixth  man  in  the  empire  having 


TRAVELLERS.  SS9 

been  compelled  to  work  at  it,  or  find  a  substi- 
tute. The  date  of  its  erection,  however,  is 
considered  uncertain;  and  therefore  this  ac- 
count may  also  be  untrue.  Gibbon  gives  the 
third  century  before  the  Christian  era  as  the 
date  of  its  construction,  and  assigns  it  a  length 
of  fifteen  hundred  miles.  Du  Pauw  reduces 
the  length*  to  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  not 
choosing  to  consider  the  western  branch, 
*'  which,"  he  says,  "  is  of  earth,  worthy  the 
name  of  a  wall."  Many  writers  judge  it  to 
be  a  very  recent  work,  or,  at  least,  of  as 
modem  a  date  as  on  this  side  the  thirteenth 
century,  since  it  is  not  mentioned  by  Marco 
Polo.  Yet,  tea  is  not  mentioned  by  him, 
although  the  Chinese  have  used  it  for  thou- 
sands of  years.  If  it  be  true  that  much  of 
Marco  Polo's  manuscript  was  destroyed  because 
his  friends  ignorantly  believed  his  wondrous 
relations  (such  as  the  burning  of  a  "  black 
stone,"  or  coal,  by  the  Chinese,  for  fuel)  to  be 
false,  the  omission  of  allusions  to  the  Great 
Wall,  in  our  copies  of  Marco  Polo,  will  be  no 
argument  against  its  antiquity. 

Next  to  the   Great  Wall,  the   "Porcelain 


340         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

Tower"  of  Nankin  is  usually  classed  as  the 
great  marvel  of  China.  The  following  curious 
description  of  this  temple  of  Boudh,  for  such 
the  porcelain  pagoda  is,  was  purchased  in  the 
city  of  Nankin,  on  the  return  of  one  of  our 
English  embassies,  and  was  first  published  in  a 
leading  periodical,  which  was  furnished  with  a 
translation  by  Sir  George  Staunton^  the  cele- 
brated scholar  and  traveller. 

"The  Dwelling  of  Security,  Tranquillity, 
and  Peace.  The  representation  of  the  precious 
glazed  tower  of  the  Temple  of  Gratitude,  in  the 
Province  of  Kiang-Nan. 

"  This  work  was  commenced  at  noon,  on  the 
fifteenth  day  of  the  sixth  moon,  of  the  tenth 
year  of  the  Emperor  Yong  Lo  (1413  of  the 
Christian  era),  of  the  Dynasty  of  Ming,  and 
was  completed  on  the  first  day  of  the  eighth 
moon,  of  the  sixth  year  of  the  Emperor  Siuen 
Te,  of  the  same  djrriasty,  being,  altogether,  a 
period  of  nineteen  years  in  building. 

"  The  sum  of  money  expended  in  completing 
the  precious  glazed  tower,  was  two  millions, 
four  hundred  and  eighty-five  thousand,  four 
hundred  and  eighty-four  ounces  of  silver.     In 


TRAVELLEBS.  841 

the  construction  of  the  ornamental  globe  on  the 
pinnacle  of  the  roof  of  the  tower,  forty-eight 
kin  (one  pound  and  one- third)  in  weight  of 
gold  (sixty-four  pounds),  and  one  thousand 
four  hundred  kin  in  weight  of  copper  were 
consumed.  The  circumference  of  this  globe  is 
thirty-six  che  (about  fourteen  inches).  Each 
round  or  story  is  eighteen  che  high.  In  that 
part  of  the  tower  called  the  quang,  were  con- 
sumed four  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy 
kin  weight  of  brass.  The  iron  hoops  or  rings, 
on  the  pinnacle  of  the  roof,  are  nine  in  num- 
ber, and  sixty-three  che  each,  in  circumference. 
The  smaller  hoops  are  twenty-four  che  in  cir- 
cumference, and  their  total  weight  is  three 
thousand  six  hundred  kin. 

"  On  different  parts  of  the  tower  are  sus- 
pended eighty-one  iron  bells ;  each  bell  weigh- 
ing twelve  kin,  or  sixteen  pounds.  There  are 
also  nine  iron  chains,  each  of  which  weighs  one 
hundred  and  fifty  kin,  and  is  eighty  che  long. 
The  copper  pan  with  two  mouths  to  it,  on  the 
roof,  is  estimated  to  weigh  nine  hundred  kin, 
and  is  sixty  che  in  circumference.  There  is 
also  a  celestial  plate  on  the  top,  weighing  four 

GG  ^ 


S42         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

hnndred  and  sixty  kin,  and  twenty  che  in  cir- 
cumference.    In  the  upper  part  of  the  tower 
are  preserved  the  following  articles : — of  night- 
illuminating  pearls,  one  string;   of  water-re- 
pelling  pearls,   one   string ;    of  fire-repelling 
pearls,   one   string;   of  dust-repelling   pearls, 
one  string ;   and  over  all  these  is  a  string  of 
Fo's   relics.      Also   an   ingot   of    solid    gold, 
weighing  forty  leang  (ounces),  and  one  hun- 
dred hin  weight  of  tea ;  of  silver,  one  thousand 
leang  weight ;  of  the  bright  huing,  two  pieces,- 
weighing  one  hundred  hin ;  of  precious  stones, 
one  string;   of  the  everlasting  physic-money, 
one   thousand'  strings;   of  yellow   satin,   two 
pieces ;  of  the  book  hidden  in  the  earth,  one 
copy ;  of  the  book  of  Omitd  Fo,  one  copy ;  of 
'the  book  of  She  Kia  Fo,  one  copy;    of  the 
book  of  Tsie  Yin  Fo,  one  copy ;  all  wrapped 
up  together,  and  preserved  in  the  temple. 

^^  The  tower  has  eight  sides  or  faces,  and  its 
circumference  is  two  hundred  and  forty  che. 
The  nine  stories  taken  together  are  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty-eight  and  a-half  che  high. 
From  the  highest  story  to  the  extreme  point  of 
the  pinnacle  of  the  roof  are  one  hundred  and 


TRAVELLERS.  S4S 

twenty  che.  The  lamps  within  the  tower  are 
seven  times  seven  in  number,  in  all  forty-nine 
lamp-dishes,  and,  on  the  outside,  there  are  one 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  lamp-dishes.  Each 
night  they  are  supplied  with  fifty  kin  weight  of 
oil.  Their  splendour  penetrates  upwards  to 
the  thirty-third  heaven, — midway ;  they  shed  a 
lustre  over  the  people,  the  good  and  bad  toge- 
ther— downwards ;  they  illuminate  the  earth  as 
far  as  the  City  of  Tse  Kee  Hien,  in  the  Pro- 
vince of  Che-Kiang. 

"  The  official  title  of  the  head  priest  of  the 
temple  is  Chao  Sieu.  His  disciples  are  called 
Yue.  The  total  number  of  priests  on  the  estab- 
lishment is  eight  hundred  and  fifty.  The  family 
name  of  the  head  mason  of  the  building  was 
Yao,  his  personal  name  Sieu,  and  his  native 
town  Tsing  Kiang  Foo.  The  family  name  of 
the  head  carpenter  was  Hoo,  his  personal  name 
Chung,  and  his  native  Province  Kiang  See. 

^*  The  extent  of  the  whole  enclosure  of  the 
temple  is  seven  hundred  and  seventy  meu 
(somewhat  less  than  an  English  acre),  and 
eight-tenths.  To  the  southward,  towards  Chin 
Van  San,  are  two  hundred  and  twenty-six  meu. 


344        THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

Eastward,  to  the  boundary  of  Chin  Sien  Seng, 
are  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  meu,  and 
eight- tenths.  In  the  centre  is  the  ground  of 
Hoo  Kin  Te.  Westward,  as  far  as  the  land  of 
She  Hon  Hoa,  are  one  hundred  and  twenty 
meu.  And  northward,  to  the  land  of  Lien 
Sien  Song,  are  one  hundred  and  eighty  meu, 

"Viewing,  therefore,  this  History  of  the 
Glazed  Tower,  may  it  not  be  considered  as  the 
work  of  a  Divinity  ?  Who  shall  perform  the 
like? 

"  Lately,  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  fifth 
moon,  of  the  fifth  year  of  Kia  King,  at  four  in 
the  morning,  the  God  of  Thunder,  in  his  pur- 
suit of  a  monstrous  dragon,  followed  it  into 
this  temple,  struck  three  of  the  sides  of  the 
fabric,  and  materially  damaged  the  ninth  story ; 
but  the  strength  and  majesty  of  the  God  of  the 
temple  are  most  potent,  and  the  laws  of  Fo  are 
not  subject  to  change.  The  tower,  by  his  influ- 
ence, was  therefore  saved  from  entire  destruc- 
tion. The  Viceroy  and  the  Foo-Yen  reported 
the  circumstance  to  his  imperial  majesty ;  and, 
on  the  sixth  day  of  the  second  moon  of  the 
seventh  year,  the  restoration  of  the  damaged 


TRAVELLERS.  845 

parts  was  commenced ;  and,  on  the  nineteenth 
day  of  the  fifth  moon  the  repairs  were  com- 
pleted. 

"  On  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  the  sixth  moon 
of  the  twelfth  year  of  his  present  majesty,  at 
four  in  the  afternoon,  on  a  sudden  there  fell  a 
heavy  shower  of  rain,  and  the  God  of  Thunder 
again  rushed  forth  in  front  of  the  tower ;  and, 
penetrating  the  roof,  pursued  the  great  dragon 
from  the  top  to  the.  bottom.  The  glazed  por- 
celain tiles  of  the  sixth  story  were  much  da- 
maged, and,  where  the  God  of  Thunder  issued 
out  at  the  great  gate,  several  of  the  boards 
taken  from  the  wood  of  the  heavenly  flower- 
tree  were  broken.  Thus,  the  God  of  Thun- 
der, having  finally  driven  away  the  mon- 
strous dragon,  returned  to  his  place  in  the 
Heavens. 

"The  priests  of  the  temple  reported  the 
event  to  the  local  authorities,  and  the  officer 
Hen  submitted  the  report  to  his  Imperial 
Majesty,  and  awaited  the  issue  of  the  sums 
required  to  defray  the  charge  of  the  repairs. 
The  gates  of  the  tower  have  been  closed  for  a 
year,  while  the  interior  has  been  repairing. 


346         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ]ENTERi*RISE. 

" '  Deny  not  the  presence  of  a  God, — a  God  there  is ; 
He  sounds  his  dread  thunder,  and  all  the  world 
trembles.' " 

Such  is  the  singular  register  of  the  Porcelain 
Pagoda  at  Nankin.  The  terraced  mountains 
have  been  often  mentioned  as  another  wonder 
of  China;  but  recent  travellers  declare  that 
these  enterprises  are  exceedingly  few  in  the 
"  flowery"  land. 

To  revert  to  Europe ;  the  great  difficulty  is 
to  select  the  themes  of  Enterprise.  Here  is 
one,  however,  of  a  somewhat  rude,  but  yet 
higlily  adventurous,  and  also  highly  useful 
kind.  It  is  a  sketch  of  a  Swiss  wonder : — the 
famous  "  Slide  of  Alpnach." 

For  many  centuries  the  rugged  flanks  and 
deep  gorges  of  Mount  Pilatus  were  covered 
by  impenetrable  forests;  lofty  precipices  en- 
circled them  on  all  sides.  Even  the  daring 
hunters  were  scarcely  able  to  reach  them, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley  never  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  disturbing  them  with  the 
axe.  These  immense  forests  were  therefore 
allowed  to  grow  and  perish ;  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  skilful  considering  it  quite  imprac- 


TRAVELLERS.  847 

ticable  to  avail  themselves  of  such  inaccessible 
stores. 

In  November,  1816,  Mr.  John  Rulph,  of 
Rentingen,  and  three  other  Swiss  gentlemen, 
entertaining  more  sanguine  hopes,  drew  up  a 
plan  of  a  slide,  founded  on  trigonometrical 
measurements ;  and,  having  purchased  a  cer- 
tain extent  of  the  forests  from  the  commune 
of  Alpnach,  for  6000  crowns,  began  the  con- 
struction of  it. 

The  slide  of  Alpnach  was  formed  of  about 
25,000  large  pine  trees,  deprived  of  their  bark, 
and  united  together  without  the  aid  of  iron. 
It  occupied  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  work- 
men during  eighteen  months,  and  cost  nearly 
one  hundred  thousand  francs,  or  £4,166.  It 
was  about  three  leagues,  or  44,000  English  feet 
long,  and  terminated  in  the  Lake  of  Lucerne. 
It  had  the  form  of  a  trough  about  six  feet 
broad,  and  from  three  to  six  deep.  Its  bottom 
was  formed  of  three  trees,  the  middle  one  of 
which  had  a  groove  cut  out  in  the  direction  of 
its  length  for  receiving  small  rills  of  water,  for 
the  purpose  of  diminishing  the  friction.  The 
whole  slide  was  sustained  by  about  two  thou- 


348         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF   ENTERPRISE. 

sand  supports,  and,  in  many  places,  was  at- 
tached in  a  very  ingenious  manner  to  the 
rugged  precipices  of  granite.  The  direction 
of  the  slide  was  sometimes  straight  and  some- 
times zigzag,  with  an  inclination  of  from  ten 
degrees  to  eighteen  degrees.  It  was  often  car- 
ried along  the  sides  of  precipitous  rocks,  and 
sometimes  over  their  summits  ;  occasionally  it 
passed  underground,  and^  at  other  times,  over 
the  deep  gorges,  by  scaffoldings  one  hundred 
and  twenty  feet  high. 

Before  any  step  could  be  taken  in  its  erection 
it  was  necessary  to  cut  several  thousand  trees 
to  obtain  a  passage  through  the  impenetrable 
thickets  ;  and,  as  the  workmen  advanced,  men 
were  posted  at  certain  distances,  in  order  to 
point  out  the  road  for  their  return.  Mr.  Rulph 
was  often  obliged  to  be  suspended  by  cords,  in 
order  to  descend  precipices  many  hundred  feet 
high  to  give  directions;  having  scarcely  two 
good  carpenters  among  his  men,  they  having 
been  hired  as  the  occasion  offered. 

All  difficulties  being  at  length  surmounted, 
the  larger  pines,  which  were  about  one  hun- 
dred feet  long,  and  ten  inches  thick  at  their 


TRAVELLERS.  S49 

smaller  extremity,  ran  through  the  Bpace  of 
three  leagues^  or  nearly  nine  mileSy  in  three 
minutes  and  a-half;  and,  during  their  descent, 
appeared  to  be  only  a  few  feet  in  length.  The 
arrangements  were  extremely  simple.  Men 
were  posted  at  regular  distances  along  the 
slide ;  and,  as  soon  as  everything  was  ready, 
the  man  at  the  bottom  called  out  to  the  next 
one  above  him,  "  Lachez^^ — let  go  !  The  cry 
was  repeated,  and  reached  the  top  of  the  slide 
in  three  minutes ;  the  man  at  the  top  of  the 
slide  then  cried  out  to  the  one  below,  "  il 
vient^^ — it  comes !  As  soon  as  the  tree  had 
reached  the  bottom,  and  plunged  into  the  lake, 
the  cry  of  "  Lachez^*  was  repeated  as  before. 
By  these  means  a  tree  descended  every  five  or 
six  minutes .  When  a  tree,  by  accident,  escaped 
from  the  trough  of  the  slide,  it  often  penetrated 
by  its  thickest  extremity  from  eighteen  to  twenty- 
four  feet  into  the  earth ;  and  if  it  struck  another 
tree,  it  cleft  it  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning. 

Such  was  the  enterprising  work  undertaken 
and  executed  under  the  direction  of  a  single 
individual.  This  wondrous  structure,  how- 
ever, no  longer  exists,  and  scarcely  a  tree  is  to 

H    U 


"850         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

be  seen  on  the  flanks  of  Mount  Pilatus.  Politi- 
cal events  having  taken  away  the  demand  for 
timber,  and  another  market  having  been  found, 
the  operation  of  cutting  and  transporting  the 
trees  necessarily  ceased. 

Let  us  now  glance  at  the  enterprise  of  erect- 
ing a  more  durable  monument.  Russia,  proud 
of  her  Czar,  the  celebrated  "  Peter  the  Great," 
wished  to  erect  a  monument  to  his  memory. 
Catherine  the  Second  was  the  monarch  who 
had  the  direction  of  the  work,  and  her  choice 
for  an  artist  fell  upon  M.  Falconet,  who,  in  his 
conception  of  an  equestrian  statue,  resolved 
that  the  subordinate  parts  should  bear  an  equal 
impress  of  genius.  "  The  pedestals  in  general 
use,"  he  observed,  "had  no  distinctive  feature, 
and  adapt  themselves  equally  well  to  any  sub- 
ject. Being  of  so  universal  application  they 
suggest  no  new  or  elevated  thoughts  to  the 
beholder."  Falconet  wished  to  make  the 
Czar  appear  as  the  father  and  legislator  of  his 
people;  great  and  extraordinary  in  everything; 
undertaking  and  completing  that  which  others 
were  unable  to  imagine.  To  carry  out  this 
conception  a  precipitous  rock  was  fixed  on  for 


TRAVELLERS.  851 

the  pedestal,  on  which  the  statue  should  appear 
with  characteristics  distinguishing  it  from  those 
erected  to  other  Sovereigns. 

Falconet's  first  idea  was  to  form  this  pedestal 
of  six  masses  of  rock,  bound  together  with  bars 
of  iron  or  copper ;  but  the  objection  was  urged 
that  the  natural  decay  of  the  bands  would  cause 
a  disruption  of  the  various  parts,  and  present  a 
ruinous  aspect,  while  it  would  be  difficult  to 
insure  perfect  uniformity  in  the  quality  and 
appearance  of  the  different  blocks.  The  next 
proposal  was  to  form  it  of  one  whole  rock ;  but 
this  appeared  impossible ;  and,  in  a  report  to 
the  senate,  it  was  stated  that  the  expense  would 
be  so  enormous  as  almost  to  justify  the  aban- 
donment of  the  undertaking.  At  length  it  was 
resolved  to  bring  to  the  City  of  St.  Petersburgh 
the  largest  rock  that  could  be  found,  cost  what 
it  might. 

The  search  for  a  huge  mass  of  rock  was 
begun,  but  the  whole  summer  was  passed  in 
vain  exploration.  The  idea  of  forming  the 
pedestal  of  several  pieces  had  again  been  enter- 
tained, when  an  immense  stone  was  discovered 
near  Cronstadt,  which  it  was  determined  to  use 


S62         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

as  the  principal  mass.  Various  mechanics  hav- 
ing been  applied  to,  refused  to  undertake  the 
task  of  removing  this  stone,  as  did  likewise  the 
Russian  Admiralty. 

Fortunately  for  M.  Falconet,  he  was  ac- 
quainted with  a  native  of  Cephalonia,  who  had 
assumed  the  name  of  Lascary,  and  who  while 
serving  in  the  corps  of  cadets,  had  given  high 
proofs  of  mechanic  skill.  Lascary  had  all 
along  strenuously  recommended  the  adoption 
of  the  original  design,  and  now  undertook  the 
formation  of  the  pedestal.  A  few  days  after 
his  appointment  to  this  commission,  he  received 
information  from  a  peasant  of  a  large  rock  lying 
in  a  marsh  near  a  bay  in  the  Gulf  of  Finland, 
about  twenty  miles  from  St.  Petersburgh  by 
water.  The  stone  was  examined,  and  the  base, 
by  sounding  around  it,  was  found  to  be  flat. 
It  was  a  parallelopipedon  in  form,  and  was 
forty-two  feet  long,  twenty-seven  feet  wide, 
and  twei^ty-one  feet  high.  These  were  dimen- 
sions sufficiently  extensive  to  realise  the  con- 
ceptions of  M.  Falconet.  The  authorities, 
when  the  mass  was  beheld,  again  recommended 
its  being  cut  into  separate  portions  for  conveni- 


TRAVELLERS.  358 

ent  removal.  The  Empress  Catherine  and  her 
minister  Betzky  were,  however,  on  the  side  of 
Lascary,  and  orders  were  imperatively  given  to 
commence  the  strange  enterprise. 

The  resolution  was  taken,  by  M.  Lascary,  to 
remove  the  stone  without  the  use  of  roUers,  as 
these  not  only  present  a  long  surface,  which 
increases  the  friction,  and  thereby  impedes 
speed,  but  are  not  easily  made  of  the  great 
diameter  that  woidd  have  been  required, 
owing  to  the  soft  and  j4elding  nature  of  the 
ground  on  which  the  work  was  to  be  per- 
formed. Spherical  bodies,  revolving  in  a 
metallic  groove,  were  then  chosen  as  the  means 
of  transport.  These  offered  many  advantages. 
Their  motion  is  more  prompt  than  that  of 
rollers,  with  a  less  degree  of  friction,  as  they 
present  but  small  points  of  contact.  Beams  of 
wood,  of  a  foot  square,  and  thirty-three  feet  in 
length,  were  then  prepared.  One  side  was 
hollowed  in  the  form  of  a  gutter,  and  lined ; 
the  sides  being  convex,  to  the  thickness  of  two 
inches,  with  a  composition  of  copper  and  tin. 
Balls  of  the  same  composite  metal,  five  inches 
in  diameter,  were  then  made,  to  bear  only  on 

H  H  2 


354        THE   TRIUMPHS  OF   ENTERPRISE. 

the  bottom  of  the  groove.  These  beams  were 
intended  to  be  placed  on  the  ground  in  a  line, 
in  front  of  the  stone,  while  upon  them  were 
reversed  two  other  beams,  prepared  in  a  similar 
manner,  each  forty-two  feet  long,  and  one  foot 
and  a-half  square,  connected  as  a  frame  by 
stretchers  and  bars  of  iron  fourteen  feet  in 
length,  carefully  secured  by  nuts,  screws,  and 
bolts. 

A  load  of  three  thousand  pounds,  when 
placed  on  the  working  model  (which  had  been 
first  constructed)  was  found  to  move  with  ease. 
Betzky,  the  minister,  was  pleased  with  the 
exhibition  of  the  model ;  but  the  crowds  who 
came  to  witness  it,  cried,  "  A  mountain  upon 
eggs!"  But  Lascary  was  not  to  be  driven 
from  his  purpose,  so  intelligently  formed,  by  a 
little  unthinking  clamour. 

The  rock  lay  in  a  wild  and  deserted  part  of 
the  country ;  and,  therefore,  the  first  thing  to 
be  done  was  to  build  barracks  capable  of  ac- 
commodating four  hundred  labourers,  artisans, 
and  others.  These,  with  M.  Lascary,  were  all 
lodged  on  the  spot,  as  the  readiest  means  of 
forwarding  the  work.     From  the  rock  to  the 


TRAVELLERS.  856 

river  Niva  a  line  of  road  was  then  cleared,  a 
distance  of  six  versts,  or  twenty-one  thousand 
English  feet,  to  a  width  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet,  in  order  to  gain  space  for  the 
various  operations,  and  to  give  a  free  circula- 
tion of  air,  so  essential  to  the  health  of  work- 
men in  a  marshy  district,  as  well  as  to  the  dry- 
ing and  freezing  of  the  ground — a  point  of  much 
importance  when  the  enormous  weight  to  be 
removed  is  considered  The  operation  of  dis- 
interring the  rock  was  commenced  in  Decem- 
ber, when  the  influence  of  the  frosts  began  to 
be  felt.  It  was  embedded  to  the  depth  of  fifteen 
feet;  the  excavation  required  to  be  of  great 
width — eighty-four  feet  all  round — to  admit  of 
turning  the  stone,  which  did  not  Kc  in  the 
most  favourable  position  for  removal.  An  in- 
clined plane,  six  hundred  feet  in  length,  was 
afterwards  made,  by  means  of  which,  when  the 
stone  was  turned,  it  might  be  drawn  up  to  the 
level  surface. 

Objectors  said  it  would  be  impossible  to 
place  the  monster  mass  of  rock  upon  the 
machine  destined  to  transport  it ;  but  Lascary 
was  still  unshaken.     Preferring  simplicity  to 


856         THE   TRIUMPHS   OF   ENTERPRISE. 

complication  he  resolved  to  employ  ordinary 
levers,  known  technically,  as  levers  of  the  first 
order.  These  were  made  of  three  masts,  each 
sixty-five  feet  in  length,  and  a  foot  and  a  half 
in  diameter  at  the  larger  end,  firmly  bound 
together.  To  lessen  the  difficulty  of  moving 
these,  triangles  of  thirty  feet  high  were  erected, 
with  windlasses  attached  near  the  base,  from 
which  a  cord,  passing  through  a  pulley  at  the 
top,  was  fastened  to  the  smaller  end  of  the 
lever,  which  being  drawn  up  to  the  top  of  the 
triangle,  was  ready  for  the  operation  of  turn- 
ing; each  of  these  levers  was  calculated  to 
raise  a  weight  of  two  hundred  thousand 
pounds. 

A  row  of  piles  had  been  driven  into  the 
ground  at  the  proper  distance  from  the  stone 
on  one  side  to  serve  as  a  fulcrum;  and,  on  the 
other,  a  series  of  piles  were  disposed  as  a  plat- 
form, to  prevent  the  sinking  of  the  mass  on  its 
descent.  Twelve  levers,  with  three  men  to 
each,  were  stationed  at  the  side  to  be  lifted, 
and  the  lower  extremities  being  placed  under 
the  mass,  the  upper  ends  were  drawn  down- 
wards by  the  united  action  of  the  twelve  wind- 


TRAVELLERS.  357 

lasses.  AVhen  the  stone  rose  to  the  height  of 
a  foot,  beams  and  wedges  were  then  driven 
underneath,  to  maintain  it  in  that  position, 
while  the  levers  were  arranged  for  a  second 
lift.  To  assist  the  action  of  the  levers  large 
iron  rings  were  soldered  into  the  upper  corner 
of  the  rock,  from  which  small  cables  were 
passed  to  four  capstans,  each  turned  by  thirty- 
six  men,  thus  maintaining  a  steady  strain ; 
while  the  stone  was  prevented  from  returning 
to  its  original  position  when  the  levers  were 
shifted.  These  operations  were  repeated  until 
the  rock  was  raised  nearly  to  an  equipoise, 
when  cables  from  six  other  capstans  were 
attached  to  the  opposite  side,  to  guard  against 
a  too  sudden  descent;  and  as  a  further  pre- 
caution against  fracture,  a  bed,  six  feet  in  thick- 
ness, of  hay  and  moss  intermingled,  was  placed 
to  receive  the  rock,  on  which  it  was,  at  length, 
happily  laid.  As  it  was  of  great  importance 
that  all  the  workmen  should  act  at  one  and  the 
same  time,  two  drummers  were  stationed  on  the 
top  of  the  stone,  who,  at  a  sign  from  the  engi- 
neer, gave  the  necessary  signals  on  their  drums. 


368         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

and  secured  the  certainty   of  order  and  pre- 
cision in  the  various  operations. 

The  machinery  for  the  removal  had,  in  the 
meantime,  been  finished.    Of  the  lower  grooved 
beams  already  described,  six  pairs  were  pre- 
pared, so   that  when  the  rock  had   advanced 
over  one  pair,  they  might  be  drawn  forward 
and  placed  in  a  line  in  advance  of  the  foremost, 
without  interrupting  the  movements.    The  balls 
were  laid  in  the  grooves  two  feet  a  part ;  the 
upper  frame,  intended  as  the  bed  for  the  rock, 
placed  above.     The  mass,  weighing  in  its  ori- 
ginal form  four  millions  of  pounds,  or  nearly 
eighteen   hundred   tons,  was   then   raised  by 
means  of  powerful  screws,  and  deposited  on  the 
frame^  when  it  was  drawn  up  the  inclined  plane 
by  the  united  force  of  six  capstans.     The  road 
did  not  proceed  in  a  direct  line  to  the  river, 
owing  to  the  soft  state  of  portions  of  the  marsh. 
It  was  impossible,  in  many  places,  to  reach  a 
firm  foundation  with  piles  fifty  feet  in  length. 
This  naturally  added  to  the  difficulties  of  the 
transport,  as  the  direction  of  the  draught  was 
frequently  to  be  changed.     Piles  were  driven 


TEAVELLEBS.  859 

along  the  whole  line  on  both  sides,  at  distances 
of  three  hundred  feet  apart;  to  these  the  cables 
were  made  fast,  while  the  capstans  revolved; 
two  of  which  were  found  sufficient  to  draw  the 
stone  on  a  level  surface,  while,  on  unequal 
ground,  four  were  required.  From  five  hun- 
dred to  twelve  hundred  feet  were  got  over, 
daily,  which  when  regard  is  had  to  the  short 
winter  day  of  five  hours  in  that  high  latitude, 
may  be  considered  as  rapid. 

So  interesting  was  the  spectacle  of  the  enor- 
mous mass  when  moving  with  the  two  drum- 
mers at  their  posts,  the  forge  erected  on  it  con- 
tinually at  work,  and  forty  workmen  constantly 
employed  in  reducing  it  to  a  regular  form,  that 
the  empress  and  the  court  visited  the  spot  to 
see  the  novel  sight;  and,  notwithstanding  the 
rigour  of  the  season,  crowds  of  persons  of  all 
ranks  went  out  every  day  as  spectators.  Small 
flat  sledges  were  attached  to  each  side  of  the 
stone  by  ropes,  on  which  were  seated  men  pro- 
vided with  iron  levers,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
prevent  the  balls,  of  which  fifteen  on  a  side 
were  used,  from  striking  against   each  other, 


360         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

and  thus  impeding  the  motion.  The  tool-house 
was  also  attached,  and  moved  with  the  stone,  in 
order  that  everything  might  be  ready  to  hand 
when  wanted.  Balls  and  grooves  of  cast-iron 
were  tried;  but  this  material  crumbled  into 
fragments  as  readily  as  if  made  with  clay.  No 
metal  was  found  to  bear  the  weight  so  well  as 
the  mixture  of  copper  and  tin ;  and  even  with 
this  the  balls  were  sometimes  flattened,  and  the 
grooves  curled  up,  when  the  pressure  by  any 
accident  became  unequal.  The  utility  of  rollers 
was  also  tried;  but  with  double  the  number  of 
capstans  and  the  power,  the  cables  broke,  while 
the  stone  did  not  advance  one  inch. 

Suddenly,  the  enterprise  was  checked  by  the 
sinking  of  the  stone  to  a  depth  of  eighteen 
inches  in  the  road,  to  the  chagrin  of  the  engi- 
neer, who  was  suiFering  under  a  severe  attack  of 
marsh  fever.  Lascary,  however,  was  not  dis- 
heartened, and  speedily  remedied  the  accident, 
spite  of  the  idle  clamours  of  the  multitude ;  and 
in  six  weeks  from  the  time  of  first  drawing  the 
stone  from  its  bed,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  see- 
ing it  safely  deposited  on  the  temporary  wharf 
built  for  the  purpose  of   embarkation  on  the 


TRAVELLERS.  361 

])anks  of  the  river,  when  the  charge  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Admiralty,  who  had  undertaken 
the  transport  by  water  to  the  city. 

The  Russian  Admiralty  had  ordered  a  vessel 
or  barge  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  in  length, 
sixty-six  feet  in  width,  and  seventeen  feet  from 
deck  to  keel,  to  be  built  with  every  appliance 
that  skLQ  could  suggest,  to  render  it  capable  of 
supporting  the  enormous  burthen.  Great  pre- 
cautions were  now  necessary  to  prevent  the 
rock  falling  into  the  stream.  Water  was  let 
into  the  vessel  until  she  sank  to  the  bottom  of 
the  river,  which  brought  her  deck  on  a  level 
with  the  wharf;  the  rock  was  then  drawn  on 
board  by  means  of  two  capstans  placed  on  the 
deck  of  another  vessel,  anchored  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  shore.  Pumps  and  buckets  were 
now  brought  into  use  to  clear  the  barge  of  the 
water  with  which  she  had  been  filled;  but,  in 
the  surprise  and  consternation  of  those  en- 
gaged, she  did  not  rise  equally;  the  centres 
bearing  most  of  the  weight,  remained  at  the 
bottom,  while  the  head  and  stem,  springing 
up,  gave  to  the  whole  the  form  of  a  sharp 
curve;  the  timbers  gave  wny.  nnd  the  seams 


862       THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

opening,  the  water  re-entered  rapidly;  four 
hundred  men  were  then  set  to  bale,  in  order 
that  every  part  might  be  simultaneously 
cleared;  but  the  curve  became  greater  in  pro- 
portion to  the  diminution  of  the  internal 
volume  of  water. 

Lascary,  who,  from  the  time  the  rock  had 
been  placed  on  the  deck  of  the  vessel,  had  been 
a  simple  spectator  of  these  operations,  which 
occupied  two  weeks,  now  received  orders  to 
draw  it  again  upon  the  wharf.  He  immedi- 
ately applied  himself  to  remedy  the  error, 
which  had  been  committed  in  not  distributing 
the  weight  equally,  without  removing  the  stone. 
He  first  caused  the  head  and  stern  of  the  barge 
to  be  loaded  with  large  stones,  until  they  sank 
to  a  level  with  the  centre;  the  rock  was  then 
raised  by  means  of  screws  and  beams  of  timber, 
diverging  to  every  part  of  the  vessel,  placed 
under  and  against  it;  and,  on  the  removal  of 
the  screws,  the  pressure  being  equal  in  every 
part,  she  regained  her  original  form.  The 
water  was  next  pumped  out,  the  stones  re- 
moved from  the  head  and  stern,  and  a  ship 
lashed  on  each  side  of  the  barge^  which — on 


TRAVELLERS.  863 

the  22nd  of  September,  1769,  arrived  opposite 
the  quay  where  it  was  intended  to  erect  the 
statue.  The  rock  was  raised  from  the  spot 
where  it  was  first  found  at  the  end  of  March, 
preceding. 

The  debarkation — not  the  least  hazardous 
part  of  the  enterprise,  had  yet  to  be  accom- 
plished. As  the  river  was  here  of  a  greater 
depth  than  at  the  place  of  embarkation,  rows 
of  piles  had  been  driven  into  the  bottom  along- 
side the  quay,  and  cut  off  level  at  a  distance  of 
eight  feet  below  the  surface.  On  these  the 
barge  was  rested;  to  prevent  the  recurrence 
of  the  rising  of  the  head  and  stem  when  the 
supports  should  be  removed,  three  masts,  lashed 
together,  crossing  the  deck  at  each  extremity, 
were  secured  to  the  surface  of  the  quay.  It  was 
then  feared  that,  afi  the  rock  approached  the 
shore,  the  vessel  might  heel  and  precipitate  into 
the  river.  This  was  obviated  by  fixing  six 
other  masts  to  the  quay,  which  projected  across 
the  whole  breadth  of  the  deck,  and  were  made 
fast  to  a  vessel  moored  outside,  thus  presenting 
a  counterpoise  to  the  weight  of  the  stone.  The 
grooved  beams  were  laid  ready,  the  cables  se- 


364         THU    TRIUMPHS    OF    E.NTERPIITSE. 

cured,  and,  at  the  moment  of  removing  the  last 
support,  the  drummers  beat  the  signal,  the  men 
at  the  capstans  ran  round  with  a  cheer,  the 
barge  heeled  slightly,  which  accelerated  the 
movement;  and,  in  an  instant,  the  rock  was 
safely  landed  on  the  quay. 

The  whole  expense  of  the  removal  of  this 
gigantic  rock  was  about  70,000  roubles,  or 
£14,000;  while  the  materials  whjch  remained 
were  worth  two-thirds  of  the  sum. 

Dr.  Granville,  in  his  Travels  to  St.  Peters- 
burgh,  describing  the  public  promenade  in 
front  of  the  Admiralty,  in  that  city,  says, 
"  Here  the  colossal  equestrian  statue  of  the 
founder  of  this  magnificent  city,  placed  on  a 
granite  rock,  seems  to  command  the  undivided 
attention  of  the  stranger.  On  approaching  the 
rock,  the  simple  inscription  fixed  on  it  in 
bronze  letters,  ^  Petro  Prime,  Catherina  Se- 
cunda,  mdcclxxxii,'  meets  the  eye.  The  same 
inscription  in  the  Russian  language  appears  on 
the  opposite  side.  The  area  is  inclosed  within 
a  handsome  railing  placed  between  granite 
pillars.  The  idea  of  Falconet,  the  French 
architect,  commissioned  to  erect  an  equestrian 


TRAVELLERS.  365 

statue  to  the  extraordinary  man  at  whose  com- 
mand a  few  scattered  huts  of  fishermen  wore 
converted  into  palaces,  was  to  represent  the 
hero  as  conquering,  by  enterprise  and  personal 
courage,  difficulties  almost  insurmountable. 
This  the  artist  imagined  might  be  properly 
represented  by  placing  Peter  on  a  fiery  steed 
which  he  is  supposed  to  have  taught  by  skill, 
management,  and  perseverance,  to  rush  up  a 
steep  and  precipitous  rock,  to  the  very  brink 
of  the  precipice,  over  which  the  animal  and  the 
imperial  rider  pause,  without  fear  and  in  an 
attitude  of  triumph.  The  horse  rears  with  his 
fore-feet  in  the  air,  and  seems  to  be  impatient 
of  restraint,  while  the  sovereign,  turned  towards 
the  island,  surveys  with  calm  and  serene  coun- 
tenance his  capital  rising  out  of  the  waters  over 
which  he  extends  the  hand  of  protection.  The 
bold  manner  in  which  the  group  has  been  made 
to  rest  on  the  hind  legs  of  the  horse  only,  is 
not  more  surprising  than  the  skill  with  which 
advantage  is  taken  of  the  allegorical  figure  of 
the  serpent  of  envy  spumed  by  the  horse,  to 
assist  in  upholding  so  gigantic  a  mass.  This 
monument  of  bronze  is  said  to  have  been  cast 


S6G         THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

at  a  single  jet.  The  head  was  modelled  by 
Mademoiselle  Calot,  a  female  artist  of  great 
merit,  a  contemporary  of  Falconet,  and  is  ad- 
mitted to  be  a  strong  resemblance  of  Peter  the 
Great.  The  height  of  the  figure  of  the  em- 
peror is  eleven  feet:  that  of  the  horse,  seven- 
teen feet.  The  bronze  is  in  the  thinnest  parts 
the  fourth  of  an  inch  only,  and  one  inch  in  the 
thickest  part:  the  general  weight  of  metal  in 
the  group  is  equal  to  36,636  English  pounds. 
I  heard  a  venerable  Russian  nobleman,  who  was 
living  at  St.  Petersburgh  when  this  monument 
was  in  progress,  relate,  that  as  soon  as  the  artist 
had  formed  his  conception  of  the  design,  he 
communicated  it  to  the  empress,  together 
with  the  impossibility  of  representing  to  nature 
so  striking  a  position  of  man  and  animal,  with- 
out having  before  his  eyes  a  horse  and  rider  in 
the  attitude  he  had  devised.  General  Melis- 
sino,  an  officer  having  the  reputation  of  being 
the  most  expert  as  well  as  boldest  rider  of  the 
day,  to  whom  the  difficulties  of  the  architect 
were  made  known,  offisred  to  ride  daily  one  of 
Count  Alexis  Orloff 's  best  Arabians  out  of  that 
nobleman's  stud,  to  the  summit  of  a  steep  arti- 


TRAVELLERS.  367 

ficial  mound,  formed  for  the  purpose;  accus- 
toming the  horse  to  gallop  up  to  it,  and  to  halt 
suddenly,  with  his  fore-legs  raised,  pawing  the 
air  over  the  brink  of  a  precipice.  This  danger- 
ous experiment  was  carried  into  effect  by  the 
general  for  some  days,  in  the  presence  of  seve- 
ral spectators,  and  of  Falconet,  who  sketched 
the  various  movements  and  parts  of  the  group 
from  day  to  day,  and  was  thus  enabled  to  pro- 
duce, perhaps,  the  finest — certainly  the  most 
correct  statue  of  the  kind,  in  Europe." 

It  thus  appears  that  enterprise  characterised 
not  only  Lascary,  the  engineer,  but  Falconet, 
the  artist,  Melissino,  the  officer  who  undertook 
to  depict  the  living  model;  and,  in  brief,  the 
entire  deed  from  beginning  to  end.  How  strik- 
ingly might  the  parallel  be  continued  with 
Peter  himself!  The  young  reader  will  find 
the  history  of  the  Czar,  which  he  can  peruse 
in  various  forms,  pregnant  with  lessons  of  enter- 
prise to  a  degree  beyond  that  of  any  modem 
man,  with  the  exception  of  Napoleon.  In  both 
their  histories,  however,  we  are  compelled  to 
remind  him,  there  is  much  to  censure;  and  in 


368  THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

the  history  of  the  latter  especially,  much  more 
to  censure  than  to  praise. 

If  our  own  country  be  viewed  with  strictness, 
it  will  be  found  that  we  have  no  great  work  of 
ornamental  enterprise  simply,  at  all  comparable 
to  the  one  just  sketched.  E-ussia,  nevertheless, 
can  bear  no  comparison  with  England  in  point 
of  useful  enterprises:  she  has  nothing,  for  in- 
stance, like  the  Eddystone  light-house  or  the 
Plymouth  breakwater.  A  few  brief  sentences 
will  serve  to  sketch  the  former. 

The  first  light-house  built  on  the  Eddystone 
rock  was  constructed  by  Winstanley,  in  1696  to 
1700.  While  some  repairs  were  making  under 
his  inspection,  the  building  was  blown  down  in 
a  terrible  hurricane,  during  the  night  of  the 
26th  of  November,  1703,  and  he  and  his  work- 
men perished.  Not  a  vestige,  except  some  iron 
stancheons  and  a  chain,  was  left  behind. 

Rudyerd,  in  1706,  erected  another,  which 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  in  1755;  it  was  entirely 
of  wood,  except  the  five  lower  courses  of  stone, 
on  the  rock. 

Jhe  present  edifice  is  a  circular  tower  of 


TRAVELLERS.  8()9 

stone  sweeping  up  with  u  gentle  curve  from 
the  base,  and  gradually  diminishing  to  the  top, 
somewhat  similar  to  the  swelling  of  the  trunk 
i)f  a  tree.  The  tower  is  furnished  with  a  door 
and  ^vindows,  and  a  stau'case  and  ladders  for 
ascending  to  the  lantern,  through  the  apart- 
ments of  those  who  keep  watch.  Mr.  Smeaton 
undertook  the  arduous  task  of  constructing  the 
present  light-house,  in  the  spring  of  1756,  and 
completed  it  in  about  three  years.  In  order 
to  form  his  foundation,  Smeaton  accurately 
measured  the  very  irregular  surface  of  the 
rock,  and  made  a  model  of  it.  Granite  partially 
worked,  forms  the  foundation;  every  outside 
piece  is  grafted  into  the  rock,  to  sustain  more 
effectually  the  action  of  the  sea;  a  border  of 
three  inches  effects  also  a  kind  of  socket  for 
the  foundation.  Each  course  of  masonry  is 
dovetailed  together,  in  the  most  skilful  manner, 
and  each  layer  of  masonry  is  strongly  cemented 
together  and  connected  by  oaken  plugs,  and 
the  whole  strongly  cramped.  The  general 
weight  of  the  stones  employed  is  a  ton,  and 
some  few  are  two  tons.  In  the  solid  work  thu 
centre  stones    were    fixed  first,   and   all   the 


370  THE   TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

courses  were  fitted  on  a  platform  and  accurately- 
adjusted  before  they  were  removed  to  the 
rock. 

The  base  of  the  tower  is  about  twenty-six 
feet  nine  inches  in  diameter;  the  diameter  at 
the  top  of  the  solid  masonry  is  about  nineteen 
feet  nine  inches;  and  the  height  of  the  solid 
masonry  is  thirteen  feet  from  the  foundation; 
The  height  of  the  tower  from  the  centre  of  the 
base  is  sixty-one  feet  seven  inches;  the  lantern, 
the  base  of  which  is  stone,  is  twenty-four  feet. 
The  whole  height  is  eighty-five  feet  seven 
inches;  and  the  Eddystone  light-house  has  not 
only  the  merit  of  utility,  but  also  of  beauty, 
strength,  and  orginality,  and  is  itself  sufficient 
to  immortalise  the  name  of  the  architect. 

The  Breakwater  thrown  across  Plymouth 
Sound  is  another  of  the  great  useful  enterprises 
of  Britain.  Mr.  Rennie  was  the  distinguished 
engineer  appointed  to  perform  this  work.  He 
knew  that  to  resist  the  force  of  the  heavy  sea 
which  rolls  into  the  Sound  from  the  south  and 
south-west,  a  very  considerable  slope  would  be 
necessary  for  the  breakwater,  and  accordingly, 
it  is  so  constructed.     He  also  perceived  that 


TRAVELLERS.  371 

great  masses  of  stones   from   one  to  ten  tons 
each  would  be  required. 

The  quarries  from  which  these  were  pro- 
cured are  situated  at  Oreston  on  the  eastern 
shore  of  Catwatcr ;  they  lie  under  a  surface  of 
about  twenty-five  acres;  and  were  purchased 
from  the  Duke  of  Bedford  for  £10,000.  They 
consist  of  one  vast  mass  of  compact  close- 
grained  marble,  many  specimens  of  which  are 
beautifully  variegated;  seams  of  clay,  however, 
are  interspersed  through  the  rock,  in  which 
there  are  large  cavities,  some  empty,  and  others 
partially  filled  with  clay.  In  one  of  these  caverns 
in  the  solid  rock,  fifteen  feet  wide,  forty-five 
feet  long,  and  twelve  feet  deep,  filled  nearly 
with  compact  clay,  were  found  imbedded  fossil 
bones  belonging  to  the  rhinoceros,  being  por- 
tions of  the  skeletons  of  three  dififerent  animals, 
all  of  them  in  the  most  perfect  state  of  pre- 
servation, every  part  of  their  surface  being  en- 
tire to  a  degree,  which  Sir  Everard  Home  said 
he  had  never  observed  in  specimens  of  that  kind 
before.  The  part  of  the  cavity  in  which  these 
bones  were  found  was  seventy  feet  below  the 
surface  of  the  solid  rock,  sixty  feet  horizontally 


872         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

from  the  edge  of  the  cliff  where  it  was  first 
begun  to  work  the  quarry,  and  one  hundred 
and  sixty  feet  from  the  original  edge  of  the 
Catwater.  Every  side  of  the  cavern  was  solid 
rock,  the  inside  had  no  incrustation  of  stalac- 
tite, nor  was  there  any  external  communication 
through  the  rock  in  which  it  was  imbedded,  nor 
any  appearance  of  an  opening  from  above  being 
closed  by  infiltration.  When,  therefore,  and  in 
what  manner  these  bones  came  into  that  situa- 
tion, is  among  the  secret  and  wonderful  opera- 
tions of  nature  which  will  probably  never  be 
revealed  to  mankind. 

M.  Dupin,  an  intelligent  observer  of  our 
great  naval  and  commercial  enterprises  gives 
the  following  description  of  the  working  to  the 
quarries  from  which  the  Breakwater  stone  was 
procured. 

"  The  sight  of  the  operations  which  I  have 
just  described,  those  enormous  mssses  of  marble 
that  the  quarry-men  strike  with  heavy  strokes 
of  their  hammers;  and  those  aerial  roads  or 
flying  bridges  which  serve  for  the  removal  of 
the  superstratum  of  earth;  those  lines  of  cranes 
all  at  work  at  the  same  moment:  the  trucks  all 


TRAVELLERS.  373 

in  motion;  the  arrival,  the  loading,  and  the 
departure  of  the  vessels;  all  this  forms  one  of 
the  most  imposing  sights  that  can  strike  a  friend 
to  the  great  works  of  art.  At  fixed  hours,  the 
sound  of  a  bell  is  heard  in  order  to  announce 
the  blastings  of  the  quarry.  The  operations 
instantly  cease  on  all  sides,  the  workmen  retire ; 
all  becomes  silence  and  solitude ;  this  universal 
silence  renders  still  more  imposing  the  sound  of 
the  explosion,  the  splitting  of  the  rocks,  their 
ponderous  fall,  and  the  prolonged  sound  of  the 
echoes." 

These  huge  blocks  of  stone  were  conveyed 
from  the  quarries  on  trucks,  along  iron-rail- 
ways, to  the  quays,  and  from  thence  into  the 
holds  of  the  vessels  built  expressly  for  the  pur- 
pose. On  their  arrival  over  the  line  of  the 
Breakwater,  they  are  discharged  from  the 
trucks  by  means  of  what  is  called  a  typirvj- 
frame,  at  the  stem  of  the  vessel,  which,  falling 
like  a  trap-door,  lets  the  stone  into  the  sea. 
In  this  manner  a  cargo  of  sixteen  trucks,  or 
eighteen  tons,  may  be  discharged  in  the  space 
of  forty  or  fifty  minutes.  Two  millions  of  tons 
of  stone,  and  one  million  sterling  in  money. 


374         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

was   the    calculation   made    at   the    outset,    as 
requisite  to  complete  this  great  national  work. 


€mtkmi 

To  describe,  even  by  a  single  sentence  each, 
the  great  enterprises  of  England — her  harbours, 
bridges,  canals,  railways,  mines,  manufactures, 
shipping, — would  occupy  volumes.  Suffice  it 
to  say  that  our  country  has  become  more  and 
more  the  land  of  Enterprise.  This,  indeed, 
must  be  the  grand  characteristic  of  the  civilised 
world,  universally,  if  the  old  and  evil  passion 
for  war  be  not  renewed. 

In  bygone  ages  the  only  path  to  prosperity 
for  nations  was  supposed  to  be  war.  Nations 
seemed  to  think  that  without  military  ^  glory ' 
they  could  not  be  great.  Modern  nations  pat- 
terned by  the  ancient ;  every  page  of  modern 
history,  as  well  of  ancient,  is  filled  with  battles 
and  successes.     The  farther  we  look  back,  the 


CONCLUSION.  375 

more  we  find  it  true,  that  violence  led  to 
splendour  and  renown.  Much  is  told  of  the 
magnificence  of  the  Eastern  empires ;  but  far 
above  the  glory  of  the  temples  of  Tadmor,  and 
the  gardens  of  Babylon,  rises  the  glory  of 
Eastern  conquerors  on  the  page  of  history.  Of 
all  that  is  recorded  of  Egyptian  labour  and 
Corinthian  wealth,  nothing  equals  in  fame  their 
contemporary  warriors.  The  trade  and  mer- 
chants of  Athens  were  not  without  profit  to 
her ;  but  to  Marathon  and  Plataia,  to  Salamis 
and  Mycale,  she  owes  the  admiration  which  the 
majority  in  later  ages  have  paid  her.  Sparta 
flourished,  though  condemned  to  idleness,  ex- 
cept in  war  and  theft.  The  trade  of  Carthage 
fell  before  the  sword  of  Rome,  and  not  all  the 
wares  that  heathen  nations  ever  fabricated,  gave 
a  twentieth  part  of  the  power  which  the  soldiers 
of  the  republic  won. 

Gradually,  the  truth  dawns  upon  the  world 
that  war  is  an  evil  immeasurable ;  that  military 
glory  is  a  false  and  destructive  light ;  and  that 
the  grandest  enterprises  are  those  which  serve 
to  increase  the  comfort,  happiness  and  know- 
ledge of  the  race.     Let  the  young  reader  bid 


376         THE    TRIUMPHS    OF    ENTERPRISE. 

success  to  such  enterprises,  and  enter  their 
spirit  with  all  his  energy.  To  be  engaged — to 
be  busy — to  be  earnestly  at  work,  he  will  find 
to  be  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  happiness ;  and 
to  pass  life  honourably  and  worthily,  it  is  not 
only  the  duty,  but  the  privilege,  of  well-nigh 
every  native  of  our  own  and  other  civilised 
countries,  to  render  existence  a  series  of  the 
"  Triumphs  of  Enterprise." 


London : 
W.  Lewis  anJ  Son,rriniers,  21,- Finch  Lano,  Cornliill. 


GENERAL  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA— BEF 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped 
date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immr 


■^ 


INTER-LfBP 


SEP 


*967 


,1 S  3  8 


NOV    81986 

'WTO.  DISC  OtCH'^ 


